INTERNATIONAL REPORT—Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe has reached an agreement to acquire five Greek hotel businesses from the Louis Group, one of the leading hotel groups in the Mediterranean, at a total enterprise value of $196.27 million (€178.6 million.)
The five hotel businesses are located in the Greek Islands with two in Corfu (Corcyra Beach and Grand Hotel), two in Zante (Zante Beach and Plagos Beach) and one in Crete (Creta Princess). They have a total of 1,464 hotel rooms.
The hotels will continue to be operated by Louis Group under the management of HIP, a hospitality company owned by funds managed by Blackstone. HIP is the largest owner of hotels in Southern Europe, and the acquisition expands its footprint to Greece.
Through HIP, Blackstone will invest meaningful capital to renovate and reposition these hotels.
James Seppala, head of European real estate at Blackstone, said: “This transaction reflects our confidence in the Greek investment environment, and we hope to invest further.”
Costakis Loizou, chairman of Louis Group, added: “The transformation of these hotels will be a boost for the Greek tourist sector, and we look forward to working with both Blackstone and HIP to enhance the experience of guests staying in these hotels.”
Alejandro Hernández-Puértolas, CEO and founding partner of HIP, said: “With this acquisition, we see an opportunity to add value by investing and actively managing the hotel businesses as we have done with the rest of our HIP portfolio.”
Completion of the transaction is subject to the customary approval of the relevant antitrust authorities.
