Rezidor Hotel Group president and CEO Wolfgang Neumann said
the company welcomes HNA Group as its new majority shareholder. The statement
came during the hotel management company's earnings call on Friday.
In December, HNA Tourism Group, a subsidiary of Chinese
conglomerate HNA Group, completed its acquisition
of Carlson Hotels from Carlson Hospitality Group, which owned a 51.3 percent stake
in Rezidor. "[Rezidor] sees the opportunity to capture the growing
outbound tourism opportunity from China under HNA's ownership," Neumann
said. "We look forward to continuing our growth journey with HNA."
Swedish takeover law requires HNA to launch a mandatory
tender offer to buy the remaining Rezidor shares, which subsidiary HNA Sweden
Hospitality Management did in late December. The offer of SEK 34.86 cash for
each share "enables the shareholders who wish to sell their shares in
Rezidor due to the change of ownership control in Rezidor to do so in an
orderly manner," according to HNA Sweden.
"HNA Tourism Group views significant value in the
competence of Rezidor's management and its employees," the offer notice
from HNA Sweden stated. "There are currently no decisions on any material
changes to Rezidor's management or employees, including the terms of employment
and locations of business."
The Rezidor board has until March 10 to consider the offer
but said it will answer by Feb. 24. Through the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group
strategic partnership, Rezidor operates and develops Carlson-owned Quorvus
Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson Red and Park Inn by Radisson hotels in
Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Rezidor also uses Carlson's hotel
reservations system, and the two cooperate in such areas as global sales, brand
websites, revenue management tools, purchasing and loyalty program membership.
Q4 & Full-Year
Results
Revenue per available room on a like-for-like basis at
Rezidor's leased and managed hotels increased 2.4 percent year over year during
the fourth quarter, driven mainly by occupancy, which increased 1.4 percentage
points. For the full year, RevPAR increased 3.8 percent.
Performance varied by market, as Rezidor's 483 hotels faced
pressure from terror events, oil prices and changes in currency values.
Full-year RevPAR fell 12.7 percent in Belgium, and in Brussels,
it declined 18 percent as a result of the March terror attacks there. However,
RevPAR for the final two months of 2016 picked up 11 percent in Brussels, which
Neumann said is "good to see, albeit the previous year's number reflected
the lockdown following the Paris terror attacks."
In France, full-year RevPAR dropped 10.2 percent following
attacks in Paris in late 2015 and impacted by attacks in Nice in July 2016.
With travel and tourism down significantly in Turkey following a series of
terror attacks and a failed political coup, full-year RevPAR in the market plummeted
34 percent. In Saudi Arabia, less business demand and low oil prices led to a
full-year RevPAR drop of 9 percent.
Bright spots for RevPAR growth included Spain (12.1
percent), Denmark (10.6 percent), Sweden (7.6 percent) and Germany (4.6
percent).
Neumann said Rezidor's overall outlook is positive, in part
because of revised forecasts from organizations like the International Monetary
Fund that indicate an economic pickup in 2017. However, there is still reason
for uncertainty. "We need to monitor the new U.S. government and the
global impact of their new policies," he said. Other key factors to watch,
he said, include upcoming elections in France, Germany and the Netherlands; the
wider economic implications of Brexit; and tensions in Russia, Ukraine and Turkey.
The company's fourth-quarter net income
increased to €18 million, up from €14.9
in the fourth quarter of 2015. Full-year net income dropped to €28.5
million, down from €31.9
million in 2015. Neumann attributed the drop to terrorism, oil prices, currency
exchange rates and other pressures.