US private equity firm Apollo Global Management has acquired Ireland’s second-largest hotel chain Tifco in a deal said to be worth up to €600 million (US$696 million), according to reporting from The Irish Times.
Goldman Sachs-backed Tifco owns 18 hotels and sites for two new hotels in Dublin. Several of the properties operate under the Crowne Plaza and Travelodge brands. Tifco also owns the Crowne Plaza hotels at Dublin Airport, Dublin-Blanchardstown, and Dundalk, the Hilton Hotel in Dublin Kilmainham, Holiday Inn Express Dublin Airport, as well as non-branded hotels, according to the Irish Examiner.
The company also manages a number of other high-profile hotels, including Clontarf Castle in Dublin, the Heritage Resort at Killenard, Co Laois, and the Metropole in Cork.
The value of the portfolio has not yet been disclosed but is estimated to be upwards of €600 million (US$696 million).
Goldman Sachs took its controlling stake in Tifco in 2014 when it bought the company’s debt from the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation. The company’s original founders – businessmen Aidan Crowe and DID Electrical founder Gerry Houlihan – retain minority holdings.