Accor SA’s share price up, acquires almost 100 hotels in Europe in a 1.23 billion-dollar deal

The French company Accor SA, which manages hotel chains and provides a variety of services related to human resources, marketing and expense management, has reached an agreement over the acquisition of almost 100 hotels on the territory of Europe in a deal estimated to about 900 million euros (1.23 billion dollars). Accor SAs said that a total of 86 hotels located in Germany and the Netherlands and 11 situated in Switzerland are to be acquired by its HotelInvest division.

The purchase is part of the companys strategy to expand its reach in the sphere of real estate holdings. The hotels have been initially a property of Accor, which had sold them in order to free up some capital. The hotels in Germany and the Netherlands were sold by the company in 2007 to Moor Park Capital Partners in a deal that amounted to 747 million euros. The company is also buying back 11 hotels situated in Switzerland from the Axa Real Estate fund, which it initially sold in 2008.

Accor SA, which currently owns the Sofitel and Ibis brands, made an official statement today, revealing that it finds the acquisition beneficial to this years earnings before interest and tax. According to the companys statement, it is also in exclusive talks over the purchase of another 11 hotels located in Switzerland.

The takeover is considered part of a strategy, which Mr. Sebastien Bazin shared at the end of 2013. Mr. Bazin, who was a private-equity executive before taking the position of Chief Executive Officer of Accor in August 2013, split the company in two major businesses – the first one manages the 14 hotel brands of the company all over the world and the second one is focused on the hotels ownership and investments.

Accor SA added 1.41% to trade at 38.05 euros per share by 9:08 GMT, marking a one year change of +40.26%. According to the information published on the Financial Times, the 20 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Accor SA have a median target of 38.50, with a high estimate of 50.00 and a low estimate of 30.00. The median estimate represents a 10.03% increase from the last price of 34.99.