Dubai – Mubasher: Emaar Properties on Tuesday announced that its wholly-owned hospitality and leisure business subsidiary, Emaar Hospitality Group, has signed “definitive documentation” with Abu Dhabi National Hotels (ADNH) to divest its entire economic interest in a portfolio of five hotels in Dubai.
The transaction closing is subject to meeting a raft of conditions and is expected to complete in by the end of 2018 or early 2019, both Emaar and ADNH said in a bourse filing.
The five-hotel portfolio comprises of Address Dubai Mall, Address Boulevard, Address Dubai Marina, Vida Downtown and Manzil Downtown, together with about 1,000 hotel rooms, the statement added.
Under the deal, ADNH will enter into long-term management agreements with Emaar Hospitality to continue operating the assets under its Address Hotels + Resorts and Vida Hotels and Resorts brands.
Commenting on the transaction, Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties, said: “Emaar’s hospitality business has recorded robust growth since its inception in 2007 and moving to an asset-light model will enable the business to unlock its true potential.”
This transaction will boost ADNH’s presence in the emirate of Dubai, said Ahmed Mohammed Sultan Suroor Al Dhaheri, vice chairman at ADNH.
It “will expand our current luxury portfolio of hospitality assets which comprise the Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi Grand Canal, The Park Hyatt in Saadiyat Island and Sofitel JBR in addition to our upper and upscale properties namely, Le Meridien, Sheraton and the two Hiltons in the Abu Dhabi Emirate (currently under re-branding to Radisson Blu),” he added.
It’s worth noting that ADNH owns stakes in resort properties in Morocco and Egypt. “We are constantly exploring ways to grow and increase value to our shareholders,” Al Dhaheri said.
Emaar Properties previously announced that its net profits and revenues had grown over the course of the first nine months of 2018 on the back of the initial public offering (IPO) of Emaar Development and foreign exchange movements.
The Dubai-based and listed developer logged a 28% year-on-year growth in net profits to AED 5.262 billion ($1.433 billion) from AED 4.102 billion ($1.117 billion).
During the nine-month period ended September, ADNH’s profits rose 9% to AED 154.7 million, compared to AED 141.4 million during the corresponding period of 2017, according to the company’s earnings statement.
