Mexican hotel and resort firm Palace Resorts — which is owned by the Chapur family — has acquired Italy-based Baglioni Hotels & Resorts.
Baglioni Hotels & Resorts is a hotel owner and operator and has hotels in Florence, Apulia, Rome, Sardinia and Venice in Italy, as well as in London and The Maldives. No acquisition price was disclosed in a news release announcing the deal.
In the deal, which Baglioni in its own news release called "a strategic financial partnership," Palace Hotels also acquired a 75% stake to become majority stakeholder in Baglioni's parent company, Cogeta Spa.
Guido Polito, Baglioni's CEO since 2011, will stay on in that role to continue “leading the expansion of the company's brands through Europe, Asia and the Middle East."
The merger allows Baglioni to seek development opportunities in the U.S., which “represents 70% of Palace Resorts’ business,” and for Palace Resorts to have a major presence in Europe.
Palace Resorts executives said that its loyalty members in a recent questionnaire placed The Maldives and Italy as “their first two dream destinations.”
Gibran Chapur, Palace Resorts’ executive vice president, said he intends to introduce Palace brands Le Blanc and Moon Palace to Europe.
“We invested in this great Italian collection for many reasons, starting with the kindness and great execution ability of its staff both in and out of the hotels,” he said in a statement.
Palace has nine resorts, all in Mexico, with the exception of one in Jamaica. Baglioni will open its next hotel in Milan in January.
In February 2021, Reuben Brothers, the ownership firm of David Reuben and Simon Reuben, bought the Baglioni Hotel Luna in Venice for approximately 100 million euros ($100.7 million). The hotel dates back to 1118.