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HNA completes acquisition of Carlson Hotels

In a deal first initiated in late April, the Chinese group HNA Tourism Group Co. Ltd. announced on Wednesday the successful completion of its purchase of Carlson Hotels Inc. from Carlson Hospitality Group, Inc. This transaction includes Carlson’s stake in Rezidor Hotel Group AB, representing 51.3% of outstanding shares.

In a release from Carlson, it was stated that Rezidor noted that HNA is now under an obligation to either launch a mandatory tender offer for the remaining outstanding shares in Rezidor or sell down its ownership in Rezidor below 30% within four weeks from the completion, which is no later than January 4, 2017. The release added that Rezidor has not been provided with any further information regarding HNA’s intentions.

In an April 28 report, no price was disclosed for the acquisition, but it was previously reported that Carlson could sell for about US$2 billion.

Carlson Hotels, whether or not it changes its corporate name, is expected to remain based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and with new ownership the reported goal is to accelerate growth in the brands by investing in assets in major gateways. “HNA has been very clear throughout process they want to be a leading global hotel company and understand they need to invest in infrastructure and also recognize from time to time they need to put their balance sheet to work owning assets,” Carlson Hospitality Group CEO David Berg told HOTELS in April. “As I think about key gateways in Asia Pacific that is something we haven’t been able or willing to do given our capital light model, and now we have some opportunities with HNA. The new and significant infrastructure gives us a platform to think about other opportunities to add into the fold.”

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