Accor Increases Stake in Orbis

In a bid to increase its hotel holdings in Central Europe, Accor has announced that it has increased its stake in the Orbis group to 50.01 percent. This gives Accor de facto control of the company and its subsidiaries. Orbis is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, and Accor increased its holdings from their previous levels of 45.48 percent, held in August of 2007. Accor purchased an additional 4.53 percent of the company at a price of PLN 55.4 per share. That represents an investment of nearly 35 million euros.

Orbis is a formerly state-owned company, privatized in 2000, and is the largest hotel operator in Poland. The company owns and manages a total of 61 hotels in Poland, amounting to 12,000 rooms. 42 of the hotels are operated under the Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure, Ibis, and Etap Hotel names. The hotels are primarily located in desirable locations around the country’s 30 largest cities.

Orbis was an attractive investment, after earning a newt profit of 41 million euros on revenues of 307 million euros, and was fully consolidated into the Accor brand beginning in July. Orbis has a broader business than simply hotels; the company also owns and operates a major car rental division, as well as tourist services, and coach services. The company also operates several highly successful casinos in Poland, and has a workforce approaching 5,000 employees. Operational control of the company will be held by Accor, and there have been no public announcements of changes to upper-management.

Learn more at: www.accorhotels.com