French hotel group AccorHotels announced Monday it has signed a deal to buy Switzerland's Movenpick Hotels and Resorts for 560 million Swiss francs (467 million euros, $567 million). Founded in 1973, Movenpick has 84 hotels in 27 countries, and plans to open 42 additional hotels by 2021, with significant expansion in Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific, AccorHotels said in a statement.
The deal is expected to be finalised in the second half of 2018. The French group, which already includes the Pullman, Raffles, Novotel and Mercure brands, said the acquisition would further consolidate its operations in Europe and in the Middle East and boost growth, notably in Africa and Asia.
"With the acquisition of Movenpick, we are consolidating our leadership in the European market and are further accelerating our growth in emerging markets, in particular in Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific," AccorHotels CEO Sebastien Bazin said.