Sunčani Hvar has most likely been sold to Eagle Hills from the United Arab Emirates, backed by Muhamed Alabar, as reported by Jutarnji list. Well-informed sources from financial circles claim that Radovan Vitek, the owner of the Czech CPI Property Group, chose Muhamed Alabar as the buyer, although the powerful American fund Blackstone showed serious interest in the acquisition, about which we recently wrote in Lider, having conducted due diligence on Sunčani Hvar and being considered the most likely buyer.
A similar situation occurred with Alabar’s acquisition of Bluesun Hotels & Resorts, specifically the company Sunce Hoteli Jake Andabaka. It was already rumored that the company was taken over by the American fund KSL, only for Alabar to eventually appear as the buyer. However, as is often the case in M&A transactions, it is not over until it is over, which means until the transaction is officially concluded.
The price achieved is not known at this moment, but it is evidently higher than what Blackstone offered. An announcement is awaited on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange where CPI Property Group, the owner of Sunčani Hvar, is listed. If everything materializes, a very serious and powerful tourism company will emerge in Central Dalmatia.
Alabar is also known as an investor in Belgrade Waterfront, and in Zagreb, he has expressed interest in developing the Zagreb Manhattan project. Among the buildings he has constructed is the famous Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai.
This is the second investment in Croatian tourism after they took over Bluesun Hotels & Resorts from Andabak, specifically his company Sunce Hoteli, which manages hotels in Brelima, Tučepi, Bol on Brač, and the Alan hotel in Starigrad Paklenica.
There was interest from multiple buyers for Sunčani Hvar, many of whom expressed intentions to acquire the company, which is the largest tourism company in the Split-Dalmatia County. Besides Eagle Hills, American Blackstone, the largest private equity fund in the world, was also very close to realization, writes Jutarnji list.
