Colony Capital buyouts in the hotel industry
Colony Capital LLC is one of the largest REITs in the world with US$14 billion invested in properties globally. In 2005 Colony Capital bought the Singapore-based hotel chain Raffles Holdings Ltd. for US$1 billion including 41 hotels and resorts (15 Raffles Hotels and 26 Swiss Hotels & Resorts) in 35 countries.
This includes Raffles hotels in the Asia-Pacific, Germany, Switzerland, the Caribbean and the US. In Asia Raffles Hotels & Resorts includes: Raffles Hotel and Raffles the Plaza in Singapore; Raffles Beijing Hotel; and two hotels in Cambodia: Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor in Siem Reap and Raffles Hotel Le Royal in Phnom Penh. Two more hotels, Raffles Resort Bali and Raffles Resort Phuket are under development.
In February 2006 Colony Capital bought Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc. for US$3.9 billion, which includes 87 properties with 34,000 rooms in Canada and the US. Colony Capital will combine Raffles and Fairmont into a single luxury hotel brand operating 120 hotels in 24 countries.
Significantly Colony Capital invested €1 billion in Accor in 2004 becoming a “strategic investor for Accor”. While it is not yet clear how Colony Capital’s role will ultimately affect workplaces throughout the Accor hotel chain, it is essential that unions monitor, understand and develop strategic responses to this.