Rowsley to buy hotel manager Ariva for up to S$10.6m amid Asia-Pacific expansion

REAL estate company Rowsley on Wednesday said that it is looking to expand its hospitality business in the Asia-Pacific region with its planned acquisition of hotel management and consultancy firm Ariva.

Rowsley signed a conditional sale and purchase agreement with vendors to buy Ariva for up to S$10.6 million. As part of the deal, founders Cameron Ong and Jean-Claude Erne will continue to lead and grow Ariva as executive chairman and executive director respectively, post-acquisition. Both men were from The Ascott previously.

Ariva, founded in October 2008, currently has more than 6,500 room keys under management and in the pipeline, spread over 47 properties across the Asia-Pacific region. Ariva manages hotels and service apartments under its own and associate companies' brands - Ariva, Amar and Louis Kienne - as well as third-party brands.

Payment for the deal will be in cash, and the allotment and issuance of new Rowsley shares at an issue price of S$0.15 each. The final purchase price is subject to terms and conditions set out in the agreement which includes the achievement of cumulative net profit after tax target of S$5.2 million up till December 2019.

Rowsley said that Ariva is financially profitable, and its contribution is expected to increase over time as Ariva's assets under management grows rapidly. Ariva will also bring to Rowsley additional industry expertise and market access to accelerate the growth of Rowsley's current hotel brands in the Asia-Pacific region, it added.