The French fund PAI Partners has moved a step closer to acquire the B&B hotel chain. Having entered into talks for the chain in December, PAI Partners has recently asked European Commision to approve the deal and the body is expected to issue its decision on February 24. B&B said it expects to gain institutional support through the deal in order to develop its chain and services worldwide. This could be provided by PAI’s most recent fund, which has a value of €3bn. No further details were disclosed at this stage.
B&B Hotels is Europe’s third hotel chain, with 343 hotels under operations in France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic and Morocco. The group’s Polish network includes hotels located in Warsaw, Toruń and Wrocław. Carlyle and Montefiore Carlyle acquired their stake in the group in 2010, in a transaction worth nearly €480m.
