Chris Cahill has been appointed CEO, luxury brands, AccorHotels
ACCORHOTELS Group has officially acquired FRHI Hotels & Resorts (FRHI) following shareholders’ approval yesterday.
The transaction sees Accor paying US$840 million in cash and issue 46.7 million shares to Qatar Investment Authority and Kingdom Holding Company of Saudi Arabia, giving them respective stakes of 10.4 per cent and 5.8 per cent in Accor’s share capital.
This acquisition will add three luxury hotel brands – Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel – into Accor’s stable, giving the French hospitality giant an even greater footprint in the luxury segment and FRHI benefits from Accor’s global distribution platform. Accor also bought home rental site onefinestay earlier this year.
“The acquisition of these three emblematic luxury hotel brands is a historical milestone for AccorHotels. It will open up amazing growth prospects, lift our international presence to unprecedented heights, and build value over the long term,” said Sébastien Bazin, chairman and CEO of AccorHotels.
“By leveraging the operational synergies between FRHI and AccorHotels, we are well-positioned to accelerate the growth of our luxury brands and offer guests even more exciting hotel choices and destinations to explore.”
AccorHotels plans to generate approximately 65 million euros (US$72 million) in “revenue and cost synergies” with the integration, the company said in a statement.
Chris Cahill has been named the group’s CEO of luxury brands to lead the FRHI integration and oversee the strategy and global operations of AccorHotels Luxury Brands. In this newly created role, Cahill will also become a member of AccorHotels’ executive committee. He was most recently executive vice president global operations at Las Vegas Sands Corp.
