Riu Group, a Spanish hotel chain, has acquired TUI’s 49% stake in Anglo-German hotel brand Riu Hotels and Resorts for $817 million. Riu will now control the entire 100% stake in the brand, but TUI will maintain its 50% stake in RIUSA II SA, the company that manages the Riu brand hotels, which it had established in 1993.
TUI has 19 hotel properties across four continents with two scheduled openings. These include one in Dubai, two in Panama, one in the U.S. and one in the Bahamas. Earlier this year, the company had announced that it was would be closing 48 of its UK high street sites, as a result of “unprecedented pressure” on the travel industry.
Claiming that the deal represented a continuation of the two groups’ relationship, Riu claimed to be “supporting its strategic partner over the long-term”. It will gain “additional agility in confronting possible paradigm changes in the near future” in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic.”
In a news release, Riu executives said that that the firm will maintain its position of strength. It added that “the management will continue, as always, to be characterized by prudence and stability, and it will continue working on reactivation, with the intention of preserving all of its jobs.”
In a news release, TUI stated that “the management of all 100 Riu Hotels & Resorts worldwide remains unchanged in [the] successful 50/50 joint venture between Riu and TUI.” Peter Krueger, the company’s Chief Strategy and Mergers and Acquisitions Officer, added that the strategy behind the decision to sell predated the pandemic. “We are separating hotel management and the holiday experience from property ownership, in line with our strategy announced in 2019 pre-crisis, a business model that has proven successful in the international city hotel sector,” he stated. “We will release capital employed, while we are strengthening our core business by focusing on global hotel management.”
