The latest development, deal and data news from around the world.
Wyndham grows in Bangkok. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
signed two license agreements with investment firm Fulcrum Ventures Asia for
the 183-room Ramada by Wyndham Bangkok Sukhumvit 11 and 91-room Ramada by
Wyndham Bangkok Ten Ekamai Residences. Both hotels are anticipated to open in
June 2023. They will be Wyndham’s 21st and 22nd hotels in Thailand, and 8th and
9th respectively within Bangkok itself. These mark the first deals between
Wyndham and Fulcrum Ventures Asia.
Napa hotel trades. Investment groups Cienda Partners and
Pendant Capital have acquired from the Hall Group the 48-room Senza Hotel in
Napa, California. The price of the deal was not disclosed. New ownership is
exploring ways to activate the property and renovate the common areas while
expanding food and beverage offerings.
Melbourne boutique sold. The 34-room Adelphi Hotel on
Flinders Lane in Melbourne, Australia, has been acquired by a private
investment group Virtical Pty Ltd (formerly known as Core Asset Development Pty
Ltd.) in a deal worth a reported A$25 million. The property was sold by private
investors Roger and Simon Ongarato and Ozzie Kheir.
New CDO at Mandarin. Francesco Cefalú has been named chief
development officer at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, responsible for overseeing
and developing the group's portfolio of hotels and residences worldwide. Cefalú
joined the group in 2016 as regional development director for EMEA and is
responsible for several major deals, including Lake Como, Muscat, Kuwait,
Zurich, Tel Aviv, Vienna and Cortina. Prior to that he worked at Hilton from
2008 to 2013 in several development manager positions and then at Four Seasons
Hotels and Resorts from 2013 to 2016 as vice president development, Europe.
Chinese group sells Oyo shares. H World Group Ltd., formerly
known as China Lodging, has reportedly sold one crore equity shares in Oyo
(Oravel Stays Ltd.) to UAE-based family offices and institutional investors in
a series of transactions. This translates to a 0.15% stake sale of H World
Group on a fully diluted basis. Before the share sale, H World Group held a
0.78% shareholding in Oyo through one of its subsidiaries. The current dilution
therefore constitutes one-fifth of its holding in Oyo. The transactions, which
were done in multiple tranches primarily over the course of 2022, have reportedly
earned H World Group over Rs 75 crore, translating to a return of 500% on the
stake sale and values their residual stake at over Rs 300 crore. This implies a
valuation of $6.6 billion for Oyo, which has been attempting to list on the
Indian stock exchanges.