Qatar-backed Louis Vuitton expands hotel portfolio

LVMH Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, the French luxury goods conglomerate part owned by Qatar, has expanded its hospitality division with the acquisition of the Hotel Saint-Barth Isle de France on the Caribbean island of Saint Barts.
The latest addition to LVMH’s growing portfolio of five-star hotels consists of 39 rooms, suites and villas and was bought for an undisclosed sum. Other luxury hotel portfolio already includes properties in Paris, the Maldives and Oman.
LVMH was formed by the 1987 merger of fashion house Louis Vuitton with champagne and liquor makers Moët Hennessy. Sovereign wealth fund Qatar Holding holds a 1.03 percent interest in the company, which was valued at around 699m euro ($914m) last year.
LVMH’s profits for the first half of 2013 rose two percent to €2.71bn ($3.6bn), the Paris-based company said last month. Total sales for the six months were also up 5.6 percent to €13.7bn.