Russia's Azimut Hotels Company buys European hotel chain
An affiliate of a Russian hotel chain has bought 20 three-star hotels in Europe with 1,875 rooms from the Austrian Hotel Company (AHC), the company director general said on Tuesday.
Central European Hotel Investment (C.E.H.I.) part of the Azimut Hotels Company said the amount of the purchase for the hotels, which are located in three EU countries namely Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, has not been disclosed.
"With this acquisition we laid the foundation for developing a large hotel chain," Sergei Lysenkov said.
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Franz Eichenauer, CEO at Azimut Hotels Company, said one of the company's development goals was the recognition of the Azimut brand as a hotel chain providing four-star services at three-star prices.
Azimut Hotels Company operates one of Russia's largest hotel chains, Azimut Hotel Network, established in 2004. The network runs business class hotels in a number of large Russian cities. Last year the company's business was worth $54 million.
Established in 2007, Central European Hotel Investment runs a hotel business and is also developing eight business class projects in Germany, Austria and Bulgaria.
Marina Rudneva, CEO of C.E.H.I, said her company planned to invest around 80 million euros in business development programs within the next three years.
"We plan to channel around 80 million euros in our business development in 2008-2010. The funds will be invested in hotel construction and modernization and the acquisition of hotels currently controlled by the company," she said.
An affiliate of a Russian hotel chain has bought 20 three-star hotels in Europe with 1,875 rooms from the Austrian Hotel Company (AHC), the company director general said on Tuesday.
