MANTRA acquired by ACCOR HOTELS

AccorHotels acquired the entire share capital of Mantra Group, the Australian hotel and resort operator, through a scheme of arrangement completed on 31 May 2018, after an agreement signed in October 2017. Shareholders received AUD 3.96 in cash per share, inclusive of any special dividend, valuing the company at an enterprise value of AUD 1–10bn, an EV/EBITDA multiple of 12.4x before synergies. Completion required approval by Mantra’s shareholders, by the Federal Court of Australia, by the Foreign Investment Review Board and by the competition authority. The purchase added Mantra’s portfolio in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and Hawaii to the Accor network in the Pacific, where the French group was already the largest operator. It brought two things Accor lacked: a concentration of resort properties in coastal destinations, alongside its own city hotels, and the expertise to manage serviced apartments owned by individual investors, a format widespread in Australia and distinct from conventional hotel operation. Mantra’s management team stayed on the Gold Coast and reported into Accor’s Pacific business unit.