Minor Group of Thailand wants to buy hotels in Portugal
The Minor Group of Thailand plans to buy all the accommodation units of Tivoli Hotels in Portugal, which was part of the bankrupt Espírito Santo Group companies, reported Portuguese newspaper Observador.
The proposal includes a partial debt write off, which will mainly affect subordinated creditors, but the alternative to the sale would be insolvency, according to the management of the Espírito Santo Group in the plan submitted under the special revitalisation process (PER).
The Thai hotel chain has acquired the Tivoli Hotels units in Brazil and some land in Portugal where hotels are installed, in an investment of 160 million euros, and now plans to acquire 12 hotels in Portugal, promising to pay part of the debt to banks and suppliers and safeguard about 1,000 jobs.
The Tivoli Hotels company is owned by Espírito Santo Hotéis, a subsidiary of Rioforte, a non-financial holding company of the Espírito Santo Group (GES) which is undergoing insolvency in Luxembourg.
The Minor Group has 126 hotels and a strong presence in Asia, Australia and the Middle East and, in addition to operating with brands such as the Four Seasons and Marriott, has its own brands such as Avani, Oaks and Anantara.
The group plans to expand in Europe and America and the acquisition of the Portuguese chain is part of this strategy. (macauhub/PT)