GIC eyeing bigger stake in Blackstone’s Spanish hotels: sources
GIC is undertaking due diligence and there is no certainty that the process will lead to a transaction
[LONDON] GIC is weighing a plan to increase its stake in a Spanish hotel business that is majority owned by Blackstone.
The Singapore sovereign wealth fund, which already owns 35 per cent in Hotel Investment Partners (HIP) and most of its properties, is now evaluating a possible offer to increase its ownership, according to people with knowledge of the process.
GIC is undertaking due diligence and there is no certainty that the process will lead to a transaction, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.
Representatives for Blackstone and GIC declined to comment.
Dealmaking in European hotels has bounced back from pandemic-era lows even as higher interest rates roiled most commercial real estate markets.
A major revival in leisure travel, particularly in southern Europe, and the ability to pass on higher costs in the form of higher room rates have insulated the sector from the deal freeze that has gripped other types of investment property.
GIC first invested in the business, which mostly owns Spanish hotels, in a 2023 transaction that the Financial Times reported valued the platform at about four billion euros (S$6 billion) at the time. Blackstone’s funds, which own the remaining 65 per cent stake, retained full control of some hotels that needed investment and have since added further properties.
Spain’s Cinco Dias newspaper reported in January that the alternative asset manager was considering a sale of the entire business at a valuation of about 6.5 billion euros.
HIP was founded in 2015 and acquired by Blackstone in 2017. It has 69 hotels operated by brands including Marriott, Hyatt, Barcelo, Melia and Lopesan, according to its website. In addition to its Spanish assets, it also owns properties in Italy, Greece and Portugal. BLOOMBERG
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