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CNMC Approves Sabadell’s Sale of Hotel Socimi to Blackstone
4 December 2017 – Eje Prime
The sale of Sabadell’s hotel Socimi has been given the go-ahead. Spain’s National Markets and Competition Commission (the CNMC) has given the green light to the first phase of the sale of Banco Sabadell’s hotel subsidiary, HI Partners, to the US fund Blackstone for €630.7 million.
The operation was agreed in October through the company Halley Hodco, which is controlled by the US investment fund. The sale of the Socimi will generate a net profit of €55 million for Sabadell and will improve its capital ratio by 22 basis points this year.
A few months ago, the Catalan bank engaged Credit Suisse, Citi and JP Morgan to work on the possible IPO of the hotel chain, but in the end, the financial institution decided to completely divest the company.
In addition to Blackstone, the fund Brookfield also bid for the purchase of the company, which was created only two years ago. HI Partners has a portfolio of 29 assets and is worth €1 billion. Its hotels include the Abora Catarina in Maspalomas (Gran Canaria); the Ritz-Carlton Abama and the Jardín Tropical, both in the province of Tenerife.
Original story: Eje Prime
Translation: Carmel Drake