Saudi PIF among buyers of AccorHotels’ property unit

The Paris-based AccorHotels signed agreements with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) among other investors to sell a 55 percent stake in its real estate business, AccorInvest.

The stake was sold for 4.4 billion euros ($5.4 billion), the French hotelier said in a statement, expecting the deal to be closed in Q2 2018.

The consortium of investors comprised Singapore’s sovereign fund GIC, France’s Amundi for asset management, the US-based Colony NorthStar, and Crédit Agricole Assurances, along with other investors.

With close to 30,000 employees and operations in 27 countries, AccorInvest has a current portfolio of 891 hotels. The majority of these hotels are located in Europe.

Last week, Bloomberg reported that the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund was said to be looking at buying a 15 percent stake in Accor’s property business in a transaction that could value the unit at over $7.64 billion.