Accor announced on Tuesday that its HotelInvest business is purchasing 97 hotels, totaling 12,838 guestrooms, in Western Europe for approximately €900 million (US$1 2 billion)

　　The purchase showcases the company's shift from the asset light strategy it implemented under Denis Hennequin, Accor's previous chairman and CEO who left the company last year.

　　The purchase by Accor, Courcouronnes, France, consists of two separate transactions. The first portfolio, representing 67 hotels in Germany and 19 hotels in the Netherlands has been operated by Accor since 2007 under variable-rent leases and the following brands: Ibis (29 hotels), Ibis Budget (31 hotels), Mercure (17 hotels) and Novotel (nine hotels). The sellers are two funds, Moor Park Fund I and Moor Park Fund II, advised by Moor Park Capital Partners, London. Accor sold the hotels to Moor Park in 2007 for €747 million (US$1 billion).

　　Exterior of the 611-room Novotel Amsterdam City, one of the hotels being sold by Moor Park Capital Partners to Accor's HotelInvest.

　　Accor entered into an exclusive agreement with Axa Real Estate for the second portfolio of 11 hotels and 1,592 guestrooms in Switzerland. Accor has operated this portfolio since 2008 under variable-rent leases and the following brands: Ibis (five hotels), Ibis Budget (two hotels), Novotel (three hotels) and MGallery (one hotel). Accor sold these hotels in 2008.

　　“These transactions send a strong signal of our capability to rapidly implement the strategy of restructuring the HotelInvest portfolio,” said Sébastien Bazin, chairman and CEO of Accor. “They are fully aligned with our selective asset acquisition criteria: hotels located in key European cities and delivering excellent operating performance in our most profitable market segments.”

　　Both acquisitions will be accretive to Accor’s EBIT in 2014, and Accor said one of the key objectives for HotelInvest is to raise this proportion to more than 75% over the medium term.