Thai Industrial & Engineering Service (Tiesco) and the UK’s Fico Holding have established a joint venture company called Newco and acquired for £160 million (US$244.4 million) Jupiter Hotels Holdings (JHH), a UK-based company that operates 26 Mercure hotels in that country, according to a report in The Nation.
Under the acquisition plan, JHH will be made debt-free from third parties. Tiesco and Fico will arrange for Newco to borrow £82.5 million. This will then be lent to JHH to repay its debts to financial institutions and current shareholders.
Fico Holding was established this year as part of the Fico group of companies, owned by the Srichawla family, which owns Red Planet Hotels, a chain of 24 budget hotels in Thailand, Indonesia, Japan and The Philippines.
The 26 Mercure hotels are managed by AccorHotels, for which the franchise agreement will expire in 2031.