Chinese-Backed Company Bluesky Hotels Purchases Canadian InnVest
Jennifer Billock May 12, 2016
A Canadian company with funding from Hong Kong is purchasing InnVest Real Estate Investment Trust.
Bluesky, a company incorporated in Ontario but funded with money from Hong Kong has made a deal to purchase Canadian-owned InnVest Real Estate Investment Trust. The sale comes out to $1.6 billion and includes 109 hotel properties, including some managed by Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt and Fairmont. Bluesky’s offer works out to $7.25 CAD per share, which is a 37 percent increase from InnVest’s average trading price for the past 30 days.
“This transaction is a winning outcome for all stakeholders,” Drew Coles, president and CEO at InnVest, said in a joint press release. ‘The dedicated work of InnVest to improve its portfolio quality and strengthen its balance sheet has culminated in the crystallization of value that this transaction represents. Bluesky is aligned with InnVest’s strategic objectives for the portfolio, and I look forward to continuing to lead InnVest on the path of asset quality driven growth.”
As a result of this deal, the Chinese group will now have a substantial foothold in the North American hotel expansion business.
“Bluesky welcomes the opportunity to acquire the InnVest business,” Li Chen, president and CEO of Bluesky, said in the release. “We are impressed with InnVest’s hotel assets and its management team. This transaction is an investment that will establish a global platform from which Bluesky will continue to pursue growth opportunities in North America.”
This deal follows on the heels of hotel acquisitions by Anbang, a Chinese insurance group, which bought Strategic Hotels and Resorts and had a bid in for Starwood.
[Photo: InnVest REIT owns stakes in 109 Canadian hotels, including the Royal York in Toronto, via Fairmont Moments]
