The Hyatt Regency in Vancouver, the Fairmont Palliser hotel in Calgary, the Hotel MacDonald in Edmonton and more than 100 other hotels across Canada will change hands in a $2.1-billion megadeal that will see BlueSky Hotels & Resorts Inc. – a private company backed by capital from Hong Kong — buy Toronto-based InnVest Real Estate Investment Trust (INN.UN-T) for $2.1 billion in an all-cash deal.
InnVest had bought the Hyatt Regency in late 2014, paying $140 million for the 644-room hotel.
The deal would give BlueSky one of Canada’s largest hotel portfolios with 109 properties, including a stake in some of Canada’s most historic hotels. InnVest also holds a 50 per cent stake in Choice Hotels Canada Inc., one of the biggest franchisers of hotels in the country.
BlueSky is offering $7.25 cash for each unit of InnVest Real Estate Investment Trust. This price is 33.5 per cent above InnVest’s closing price of $5.47 on May 10, prior to the takeover announcement.
Li Chen, the president and chief executive officer of BlueSky, said the investment "will establish a global platform from which BlueSky will continue to pursue growth opportunities in North America,” according to a BNN report.
The BlueSky transaction is expected to close in the third quarter 2016.
