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TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and other shareholders of AccorHotels have approved the acquisition of FRHI Holdings Limited and the corresponding share capital increase reserved for QIA and Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) as well as their representation on the board of directors.
The deal includes a share issue which leaves QIA with a 10.4 percent stake in Accor.
The appointment of six new directors -- Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo and Ali Bouzarif proposed by Qatar Investment Authority, Sarmad Zok proposed by Kingdom Holding Company, and Jiang Qiong Er, Isabelle Simon and Natacha Valla -- as independent directors was also approved.
The board of directors now has 16 members, including one employee representative director. Seven directors are women and nine are independent.
A new employee representative director will be appointed by the group's European Work Council within the next few weeks in accordance with the company's bylaws.
"QIA puts its trust in AccorHotels and is pleased to become a significant shareholder of this company. We are convinced of the relevance of this transaction for QIA and fully support the strategy defined by the board of directors of AccorHotels and implemented by the group's management team. The acquisition of FRHI positions AccorHotels as a key player in the luxury hospitality industry and strengthens its positioning as the world's leading hotel operator," QIA said.
S`bastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO of AccorHotels, said,"The six new board members who have been appointed by our shareholders are bringing tremendous diversity and experience to AccorHotels' board.
"I am convinced that their complementary backgrounds and views will be of great support to continue developing our growth and innovation strategy in the future.
"I am pleased to welcome QIA and KHC as major shareholders of the Group and to have their representatives on the Board of Directors as from now. The acquisition of FRHI that we have just finalised proves the agility of the group in a hospitality sector undergoing great change and reinforces our service offering for our clients and partners," Bazin said.
"It also enables AccorHotels to consolidate its shareholder base, with two renowned investors that are great specialists of the global hotel sector becoming new shareholders.
With the support of QIA and KHC as well as the active involvement of their representatives in the work of the Board of Directors, we are ideally placed to keep on implementing our ambitious and value-creating strategy," he said.
