Asian investors target Mantra
Australia’s largest resort operator, the Mantra Group, is attracting interest from Asian investors.
The talk in the market now is that an Asian party or the InterContinental Hotel Group could be zeroing in on the group which has at least 20,000 rooms under management.
The Mantra portfolio includes at least 125 properties. It is best known for its operations under the Peppers and BreakFree brands.
According to Data Room in The Australian, InterContinental has been bidding for Mantra amid its dual track process, which ended with a listing on the stock exchange.
Mantra shares are now selling at $2.65 after hitting $5 in April last year.
Mantra goes back to the last market boom when it was purchased for $450 million by CVC Capital and UBS.
The company was floated by investment banks UBS and Macquarie Capital. At the time of the float, shares were selling at $1.80. It was floated for close to $500 million.
According to Data Room, Highbury Partnership is close to Mantra.
Listed Gold Coast based hotel operator Mantra Group already has operations in New Zealand and Indonesia and added nine new hotels to its network, including four on the Gold Coast and one in the Brisbane CBD in the first half of this financial year.
Data Room reports of market speculation about major hotel operators in Asia looking for growth opportunities in Australia.
It has suggested that the listed Amalgamated Holdings — now called Event Hospitality and Entertainment — might be a buyer.
The company owns the rival hotel chain Rydges.
Chinese suitors hoping to invest in Australian tourism are also being suggested as possible buyers.
According to research from CBRE International, Asian investors have pumped $8.2 billion into the local hotel market over the past eight years.
That’s considerably more than the $3.2 million forked out by locals.
by Leon Gettler, March 21st 2017
