Hotel Online Special Report
---
Spanish Hotel Chain Sol Melia Becomes Ninth Largest Hotel Company in the World With Corporate Restructuring
Sol Meliá joins Spanish consortium to form new tour operator, Viva Tours
 
Singapore, 7 December 1998-  Spanish Hotel Chain, Sol Meliá has today announced a Tender Offer for a 100% stake in Meliá Inversiones Americanas N.V. (MIA),  - an investment consortium for hotel development and acquisitions in the Americas  - and on completion, further intentions to merge with hotel real estate company Inmotel. This move will make Sol Meliá the ninth-ranked hotel company in the world in terms of market capitalisation with operations of over 65,000 hotel rooms in 250 hotels in 25 countries. 

On completion of the mergers and acquisitions, Sol Meliá�s market capitalisation will stand at  323 billion pesetas, ( US$ 2.23 billion), placing it amongst the 12 largest non-financial companies in the Spanish IBEX 35 share index. 

The operation will reinforce Sol Meliá�s competitive position on the global stage  and follows the growing trend towards consolidation in an industry that has produced 14 significant mergers and alliances this year, including Marriott, Renaissance, HFS, Bristol, Patriot and
Starwood.

The new Sol Meliá will have annual revenues in excess of 100 billion pesetas (US$ 690 million) and an operating cash flow of almost 35 billion pesetas (US$ 241 million)  Equity will exceed 138, billion pesetas  (US$952 million) while net debt will only be 30 billion pesetas
(US$207 million) one of the lowest levels of leverage in the international hotel industry. 70% of revenues will stem from European business, especially Spain, with the remainder from the emerging countries.

According to the Sol Meliá Chief Executive Officer, Sebastián Escarrer, "the integration of the three companies to create a sole entity will allow us to obtain significant financial strength and stability, enhancing our ability to achieve future growth and consolidate our position amongst the leading hotel companies in the world. Recent changes within the industry and the corrections in the economy in various regions, including Asia and Latin America, will provide us with excellent opportunities to acquire new hotel properties throughout the world." 
 

Sol Meliá joins Spanish consortium to form new tour operator, 
Viva Tours
Singapore, 7 December 1998 -  Sol Meliá, Spain�s leading hotel chain, has joined a consortium of Spanish companies to form a new tour operator, Viva Tours.  The focus of Viva Tours is to specialise in selling quality products in destinations such as Asia, Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Caribbean, Latin America, and European capital cities to Spanish holidaymakers.

Viva Tours, which has begun work, is slated to begin operations in July 1999.  The forecast sales target for the first year of operations is ata revenue of 58,000 million pesetas, which translates as 721,000 package holidays. Despite the highly competitive tourism market in Spain,  thetour operator targets to serve 1,000,000 customers per year.

Viva Tours has been formed by companies which are all leaders in their respective industries, that will inject their tourism industry know-howinto the new company.  This includes Iberia Airlines, which owns a 51% stake, Sol Meliá with 22%, Iberostar  with 15%, GHR with 7%, and the management team that will lead the new company with a further 5%.

Sol Meliá, Spain�s number one hotel group and one of the top nine hotel  companies in the world, has a portfolio of 250 city and resort hotels in 30 countries under the brand names of Meliá, Sol and Paradisus hotels.  Its properties in Asia include Gran Meliá Jakarta, Meliá Bali
(incorporating The Garden Villas), Meliá Benoa (Bali), Sol Lovina (Bali), Meliá Purosani (Yogyakarta), Meliá Panorama (Batam), Sol Elite Bintan, Sol Mayang Sari (Bintan), and Sol Elite Marbella (Anyer) in Indonesia; Meliá Hanoi in Vietnam; Meliá Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia; Meliá Hua Hin and Sol Twin Towers (Bangkok) in Thailand.

###
 
Contact:
Jennifer Dunbar
Dunbar-Jones & Associates
51 Goldhill Plaza #07-04
Singapore 308900
Phone : (65) 356 2830
Fax: (65) 254 8971Email: [email protected]
 --
 
Also See: Sol Melia Set to Open Third Property in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic - The 540-suite Melia Tropical Beach Resort / Oct 1998 
Sol Melia Announces Half-Billion-Dollar Five-Year Expansion Plan for Mexico / April 1998 

To search Hotel Online data base of News and Trends Go to Hotel.Online Search
Back to Hotel.Online Press Releases
Home | Welcome! | Hospitality News | Classifieds | Catalogs & Pricing | Viewpoint Forum | Ideas/Trends
Please contact Hotel.Online with your comments and suggestions.