Goldman Sachs in talks to buy B&B Hotels for 2b euros

London

GOLDMAN Sachs Group is in exclusive discussions to buy the B&B Hotels chain from European buyout firm PAI Partners.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of this year, PAI Partners said in a statement on Monday, without providing any financial details.

Goldman Sachs is doing the deal through its merchant banking division, according to the statement.

The announcement confirms a Bloomberg News report last week that the Paris-based private equity firm was close to a deal to sell the hotel chain for about two billion euros (S$3.07 billion) to the lender, citing people familiar with the matter.

PAI bought the French hotelier in 2016 in a deal that valued B&B at about 790 million euros, expanding the firm into new markets.

The chain has more than 486 hotels and reported revenue last year of 580 million euros, according to the statement.

It was founded back in 1990 and operates in markets including Europe, Brazil and Morocco.

Goldman's merchant bank is one of the biggest in the world, and the firm had US$20 billion in private equity investments at the end of 2018. BLOOMBERG