Paris: French luxury giant LVMH said on Friday that it had reached agreement to buy hotel group Belmond, whose properties include the Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro and Cipriani in Venice, in a transaction worth $3.2 billion (2.8 billion euros).
LVMH said it would acquire Belmond for $25.00 per class A share in cash. That represents a premium of 42 per cent over their closing value of $17.65 on the NY Stock Exchange on Thursday. The equity value of the transaction comes in at $2.6 billion, but LVMH put the enterprise value, a measure which includes debt and preferred shares, at $3.2 billion. The firms said they expect the transaction to be completed in the first half of next year, subject to approval by Belmond’s shareholders and approval by the relevant competition authorities. Belmond began over 40 years ago with the acquisition of Hotel Cipriani in Venice. It now owns and operates a collection of high-end hotels around the world as well as offering rail and river cruises.— AFP
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