New real estate acquisition for the luxury fashion brands
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, a luxury goods company based in Paris, which owns fashion brands like Fendi and Louis Vuitton and champagne producer Dom Pérignon, is about to acquire Belmond Management Limited, owner of luxury hotels in around the world, including the Hotel Caruso di Ravello.
The value of the transaction enhances the group listed on the New York Stock Exchange for 3.2 billion dollars. The preliminary offer was formalized at the value of 25 dollars per share (therefore 2.6 billion cash), with a premium of seven dollars on the stock price at the close of Thursday 13 December on the Stock Exchange. The prestigious Wall Street Journal announces it.
Already last summer there were rumors of the sale of the hotel group, which has 50% of the iconic assets in Italy.
For LVMH, the acquisition of Belmond will broaden its reach into the luxury world and significantly increase its position in the hospitality industry. The luxury goods company has the hotel brand Bulgari and Cheval Blanc.
Belmond Ltd boasts total or partial holdings in almost all of its 36 hotels, making it one of the last hotel operators to own most of the managed properties. The hotels include, besides the Caruso di Ravello, the Cipriani in Venice, the Splendido di Portofino, the Villa San Michele in Florence, the Grand Hotel Europe in Saint Petersburg, in Russia, and the Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro.
After years of rejecting all acquisition offers, Belmond’s board announced in August that it had initiated a strategic review that actually sold the company. Belmond’s share price has increased more than 50% since the announcement.
Founded as Orient-Express Hotels, in 2000 the company became an independent company and changed its name to Belmond in 2014. It also offers luxury train journeys, including the Simplon-Orient-Express of Venice, river cruises in Europe and Asia and owns the venerable restaurant “21” Club of New York.
