Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) have been tickling the palate of tourism stakeholders since last year and the money keeps on rolling led by China, the new economic powerhouse.
Chinese investors are continuing their overseas acquisitions of hotel and tourism entities with the recent purchase of Carlson Hotels by China’s HNA Tourism Group Inc., a subsidiary of HNA Group company, as reported by Bloomberg.
HNA Tourism just bought airport luggage handler Swissport International for USD 2.81 billion and is the biggest shareholder in the Spanish Hotel company NH Hotel Group SA. HNA owns China’s fourth largest airline, Hainan Airlines.
Carlson Hotels has 1,092 properties that include Radisson brands, Park Plaza Hotels and Country Inns and Suites, with more than 170,000 rooms operating and is ranked tenth among the world’s largest hotel companies as of September 2015.
In the past six months, M&A activities hogged the headlines of the tourism and hospitality media with the mergers of Jin Jiang and Plateno hotel groups, Anbang’s acquisition of Waldorf Astoria New York, Marriott’s merger with Starwood Hotels and Resorts, and Accor Hotels with Fairmont & Raffles Holdings Inc.
