AccorHotels today welcomed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) decision to clear the acquisition of Mantra Group Ltd. The acquisition still requires approval from Mantra shareholders as well as approvals from the Federal Court and the Foreign Investment Review Board.
Accor’s business is mainly focused on hotels and its brands include Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure and ibis. Mantra’s focus is on serviced apartments, which it offers through its Peppers, Art Series, Mantra and Breakfree brands.
ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said:
“The combined Accor-Mantra will still compete with other international and national hotel chains, as well as many independent hotels and accommodation providers.
The combined Accor-Mantra will have a large number of properties in some areas, particularly in certain holiday destinations in Queensland. However, in each case and after a detailed review the ACCC has found that there are also sufficient other options nearby for visitors which will provide competition to Accor-Mantra.”
Mantra is one of Australia’s largest hotel and resort marketers and operators with 127 properties and over 20,000 rooms in hotels, resorts and serviced apartments across Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and Hawaii, under three key brands: Peppers (28 properties), Mantra (75 properties) and BreakFree (24 properties). Mantra has more than 5,500 employees.
The acquisition is likely to take place in the second quarter of 2018.