Singapore-based Banyan Tree Holdings has entered into a heads of agreement with AccorHotels, which will see the hotel group invest an initial SGD$24m (US$16.8m) in Banyan Tree.
The preliminary agreement is for both parties to co-develop the brands owned by Banyan Tree around the world. This investment will give AccorHotels a 5% stake in Banyan Tree. Banyan Tree will gain access to AccorHotels’ global reservations and sales network, as well as its loyalty programme, Le Club AccorHotels. Ho Kwon Ping, executive chairman of Banyan Tree, described the agreement as “transformational” for his business. “Our strategic alliance with AccorHotels allows us to remain an independent company, enabling us to continue securing hotel management agreements on our own and yet accelerating Banyan Tree’s speed and scope of expansion but with AccorHotels helping us to grow our brands around the world. “We believe this agreement will propel our brands rapidly to global reach and range and strengthen our ability to embrace change and innovation in the hospitality industry with a strong global partner.” Sebastien Bazin, CEO and chairman of AccorHotels, said: “Banyan Tree Holdings has created key leading positions across Asia with luxury resorts… We will bring scale to the network through our ability to develop and manage hotels under the Banyan Tree brands globally. We are confident that our investment will create incremental value for our shareholders.”
