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. |