Accor not in race for Groupe du Louvre hotels

Reuters, February 2nd, 2012

France's Accor said on Wednesday it was no longer in the running to buy the prestige hotels of Groupe du Louvre, a unit of US investment group Starwood Capital.

Accor's offer, which it made together with Franco-Dutch property group Unibail-Rodamco, "was not retained", an Accor spokeswoman told Reuters, without giving further details.

Separately, a source close to the matter told Reuters that Starwood Capital was looking to sell the prestige hotels it bought when it took over the Taittinger's hotel and champagne empire in 2005 and was talking to several sector players.

Starwood Capital, which renegotiated its debt last July, was however under no strain to close a deal quickly, she added.

Starwood Capital, which in 2010 sold the prestigious Hotel Crillon in the heart of Paris to a member of the Saudi Royal family, has been looking since the autumn to sell the rest of the prestige hotel portfolio of Groupe du Louvre.

The portfolio notably includes luxury hotels Le Martinez in Cannes, the Hotel du Louvre and Concorde Lafayette in Paris and Le Palais de la Mediterranee in Nice.

Earlier on Wednesday, newspaper Les Echos said Starwood could complete the sale in the next one or two months in a deal estimated worth 700-800 million euros ($916 mln-$1.05 billion) and that two main bidders were in the running, a Middle East investor consortium, and Accor together with Unibail Rodamco.

Starwood has mandated UBS and Jones Lang La Salle for the sale. Jones Lang La Salle declined to comment.