SALT LAKE CITY
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has agreed to acquire Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants for $430 million in cash.
Kimpton is the world’s largest independent boutique hotel operator and an accomplished food and beverage operator, the company manages 62 hotels and resorts in the U.S. with a further 16 hotels in the pipeline. It operates 71 hotel-based destination restaurants and bars.
The acquisition makes IHG the clear market leader in the boutique segment, the fastest-growing segment in the industry; it is complementary with IHG’s Hotel Indigo and EVEN Hotels brands and creates a leading boutique and lifestyle hotel business, with over 200 open and pipeline hotels across 19 countries.
“Kimpton is a well-established and highly successful business that has built an industry leading position in the U.S.,” remarked Richard Solomons, CEO of IHG. “It has created a portfolio of world-class hotels and destination restaurants, and the distinctive and innovative Kimpton brand will fit perfectly into the IHG brand family. Adding Kimpton to our portfolio of preferred brands creates the world’s largest boutique hotel business.”
The boutique hotel segment has been the fastest growing in the hospitality industry over the last four years, with demand, supply, and RevPAR growth for boutique hotels in the U.S. each significantly outperforming the overall industry.
The transaction will be financed through existing cash resources and new debt facilities, and is expected to close during the first quarter of 2015 upon satisfaction of certain customary conditions, including Hart-Scott-Rodino anti-trust clearance and the consent of Kimpton shareholders.
