Raffles Hotel Sold !!!
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Business Times - 18 Jul 2005
Raffles to sell hotels for $1.45b cash
SINGAPORE - Raffles Holdings will sell its hotel business to US real estate investors Colony HR Acquisitions LLC for $1.45 billion in cash.
Raffles said in a statement to the Singapore Exchange on Monday that the enterprise value of the divestment is $1.72 billion, including debts of $220.7 million and minority interests of $53.4 million.
It said it will gain $605 million from the deal and pay shareholders a special dividend of 40 cents a share.
Raffles is part of Southeast Asia's largest property group, CapitaLand Ltd and owns 15 Raffles Hotels & Resorts and 26 Swissotel Hotels & Resorts in 35 destination.
It also announced that it will retain its stake in Tincel Properties which owns the Raffles City Complex.
Colony HR Acquisitions LLC is an affiliate of Los Angeles- based Colony Capital LLC.
CapitaLand Chief Executive Liew Mun Leong said in the statement that the sale 'will unlock a very significant amount of value for Raffles shareholders' and 'retain a substantial amount of capital and gearing capacity for re-investment into higher yielding assets for future business growth.' -
Isn't Raffles Hotel it's crown jewel? Why dispose of it?
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sell to US real estate investors Colony HR Acquisitions LLC???
is it because of the IR thing and deal of such take place?
ppl dun do thing for nothing de.
just a simple seach on Colony HR Acquisitions LLC... read herehttp://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/stories/2004/06/14/daily43.html
Colony Capital buys Las Vegas Hilton
An subsidiary of Colony Capital LLC, the Los Angeles-based international private investment firm, acquired Friday the Las Vegas Hilton from Caesars Entertainment Inc. for $280 million.
Under the terms of the previously announced deal, Colony Resorts LVH Acquisitions LLC acquired all the assets of the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel and Casino and assumed certain related debts.
Colony LVH will invest as much as $67 million over four years to renovate the hotel, including updating guest rooms, restaurants and its three casino areas. The company also will focus on building the hotel's convention business, according to a Caesars statement.
The company also entered into an agreement with Beverly Hills-based Hilton Hotels Corp. to continue using certain Hilton brands.
Caesars, based in Las Vegas, said it will use the $265 million in proceeds to reduce debt to approximately $4.2 billion.
The 30-story Las Vegas Hilton opened in July 1969 as the largest hotel in Las Vegas.
Colony owns Resorts International in Atlantic City, N.J., and is a partner in Accor Casinos in Europe.
Colony Capital has a staff of more than 100 people and has offices in New York, Paris, Rome, Beirut, Singapore, Hawaii, Tokyo, Taipei, Shanghai and Seoul. -
Why??? That is like one of Singapore's historical icons!!!!! -
maybe they are going to sell Raffles statue to garang guni next ...
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all in exchange for them to come build IR la....
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next time i think someone will come out with LKY Hotel or LKY something something (once he kon kar kieo la) and the next few generation will follow what ppl do today... sell away Raffles Hotel.
and it will read
LKY Hotel Sold.
for what reasons... i dun know...
you ripe what you plant today. -
I believe the same top directors and board also want to bail out after fleecing enough money liaos. Ha ha ha , the industry really havent been making a lot of $$$ for the kind of investments the shareholders have been putting in.
So they sold it to some other freaky Foreigners to invest. -
they made a neat profit of $600 million.
it is all about money. now shareholders can get $400 dividend.
they will all be happy. who cares about icon? -
YAY!!! Bumper dividends for me!!!
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Yah...I dont really care about the icon...Originally posted by dragg:they made a neat profit of $600 million.
it is all about money. now shareholders can get $400 dividend.
they will all be happy. who cares about icon?
Getting 4k in dividends is better -
you have capital land?Originally posted by shade343:YAY!!! Bumper dividends for me!!! -
Yep. But I have more RHL than CapitalandOriginally posted by dragg:you have capital land? -
Originally posted by crazy monkey:maybe they are going to sell Raffles statue to garang guni next ...
possible, very possible..
everythings for sale..
layyyy longggg -
why shld ppl buy it? Its just a mixture of cement, coarse aggregates, sand and a bit of paint.Originally posted by crazy monkey:maybe they are going to sell Raffles statue to garang guni next ... -
More on the sale
Raffles Hotel will remain a S'pore icon
Jennie Chua to stay on as chairman; US buyers say hotel's legacy will be protected
By Maria Almenoar
July 19, 2005
The Straits Times
OWNERSHIP of one of Singapore's most famous landmarks may be changing hands, but the legacy of Raffles Hotel will remain safe in the hands of Ms Jennie Chua, who has agreed to stay on as its chairman.
Ms Chua, who is president and chief executive of Raffles Holdings, started as the general manager of the hotel in June 1990.
'The fact remains that it will always be a Singapore icon, because it's here and because it will be managed by the same people who are right now managing it,' she said yesterday.
Mr Thomas J. Barrack, chief executive officer of Raffles' purchasers Colony Capital, also said the American group deeply 'respects the historical significance of the Raffles Hotel, Singapore' and considers it their 'responsibility to protect that legacy'.
Raffles Holdings' parent CapitaLand's president and chief executive officer Liew Mun Leong added his own reassurance.
'When the Americans sold Rockefeller Centre to the Japanese, Mitsubishi... there were also sentiments about it. And when the British sold Harrods to an Egyptian buyer, did anything happen to it? In fact, it's still very much a British institution.
'Those two institutions did not change. Ownership does not change the legacy of the buildings.'
Raffles Hotel, in Beach Road, is one of the 41 luxury hotels owned or managed by Raffles Holdings that Colony, a United States real-estate investment company, has bought for about US$1 billion (S$1.7 billion).
The purchase, which includes 15 Raffles and 26 Swissotel hotels and resorts, is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Since 1887, Raffles Hotel has played host to numerous celebrities, including Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly and Orson Welles.
The hotel has also served as a source of inspiration for writers like Somerset Maugham, author of The Casuarina Tree, who would sit under the frangipani trees in the morning, turning the society gossip he overheard into fiction.
Since 1995, it has been one of 54 buildings in Singapore gazetted as a monument, which means little can be done to change the architectural properties or even colour of the buildings without the approval of the Preservation of Monuments Board. Its name - Raffles Hotel - must also be retained.
The board, however, has no jurisdiction over any change in the usage of the building.
And that concerns heritage-watchers like Dr Kevin Tan, president of the Singapore Heritage Society. 'The concern isn't if it will be kept intact architecturally, but more if it will be used for other purposes, for example, as a shopping centre or a casino,' he said.
In a statement yesterday, the board pointed out that Raffles Hotel is not the first national monument to be owned by foreign companies or individuals.
The old Thong Chai Medical Hall in Eu Tong Sen Street and MacDonald House in Orchard Road are also owned by foreigners and 'these continue to be preserved and maintained according to the guidelines'.
While the board has no say on how the building is used, owners have to run it past other government 'gatekeepers' like the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Ministry of National Development.
As for retaining the interior decor, Raffles Holdings will continue to own a range of assets, including antiques and memorabilia, and has agreed to loan them to Colony for display at the hotel.
Real estate experts also believe that there is no cause for concern, as the new owners are unlikely to change a 'winning formula'.
Said Assistant Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim from the National University of Singapore's department of real estate: 'A significant part of the value of the building comes from its role as a hotel and that is likely to be the reason the investors bought it. It's not a rational choice to change it.'
[email protected]
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WHY SELL AN ICON?
'My sentiments are very simple... I think the change of ownership of Raffles Hotel, doesn't change it at all. It still has its own history, own legacy, it'll still be in Beach Road. And the new owner, paying so much for it, will definitely bring it up...
Singapore is an open economy and if people want to buy something at a good price, why not?'
MR LIEW MUN LEONG, CapitaLand's president and chief executive
DOESN'T MATTER WHO OWNS IT
'When the Americans sold Rockefeller Centre to the Japanese... there were also sentiments about it. And when the British sold Harrods to an Egyptian buyer, did anything happen to it? In fact, it's still very much a British institution. Those two institutions did not change. Ownership does not change the legacy of the buildings.'
-- MR LIEW
NO DIFFERENCE TO GUESTS AND STAFF
'Some guests don't even care who the owners are. They care only about the staff, and the hotel that they come to Singapore to see, to visit, and to stay in... Whether it's Colony owning it, or somebody else, it's something that is very far removed from the guests.
And the staff, as long as they continue under the same management... and the same general manager and the same brand, they're also equally comfortable.'
-- MS JENNIE CHUA, chief executive of Raffles Holdings
RAFFLES LEGACY WILL BE PROTECTED
'We deeply respect the historical significance of the Raffles Hotel and we consider it our responsibility to protect that legacy. We are delighted Jennie Chua has agreed to remain as chairman of the Raffles Hotel Singapore to provide continuity and support our efforts.'
-- MR THOMAS J. BARRACK, chairman and CEO of Colony Capital
Isn't it odd that our GLCs have no qualms about selling our national assets, especially when they get tremendous value for it? We seemed to have forsaken national heritage in favour of monetary profit.
As there wasn't any open bids, we can safely assume that raffles hotel wasn't saddled in debt. Given the lack of reasons, one can only wonder what raffles holdings or rather CapitalLand was thinking when they even considered this offer. Then again a 1 billion offer equates to good business and was probably too tempting to resist.
Appointing (or re-appointing) Ms Jeanie Chua seems only iconic rather than strategic as, despite what is reported on non-jurisdiction, her own powers are likely to be limited by the subsequent Colony Board, indicating that she serves only as 'interim' chairman to supervise the transition. I don't see how she plans to preserve the legacy that is Raffles and all that talk abt patrons who 'don't care who the hotel owners are' simply marginalise the issue at hand - that all our national assets are expendable so long as it comes at a good price.
CapitalLand probably needs the funding, possibly to seed other projects and aquisitions as part of their overall company direction. Sadly, it seems money has taken precedence over basic pride and heritage.
We have relinquished Westin Stamford to Swissotel. With the sale of Raffles hotel, one can only surmise...who's next? -
I dont understand why people kpkb about the Raffles Hotel...Its not urs lor. If anybody want to kpkb about the deal, it should be the shareholders of RHL. They are the people who have a stake in it.
But I see nothing to kpkb about leh... -
of course the shareholders couldnt care less. they just want the money.
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Well...only shareholders have the right to kpkb...Originally posted by dragg:of course the shareholders couldnt care less. they just want the money.
So if anyone feels that this is the wrong decision, go buy over capitaland's stake in RHL and oppose the deal lor. -
To BilliyBong:
Whats wrong with relinquishing Westin Stamford to Swissotel?
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you are wrong. only major shareholders have the right.Originally posted by shade343:Well...only shareholders have the right to kpkb...
So if anyone feels that this is the wrong decision, go buy over capitaland's stake in RHL and oppose the deal lor.
minority shareholders cant even kpkb. -
Of course minority shareholders can kpkb.Originally posted by dragg:you are wrong. only major shareholders have the right.
minority shareholders cant even kpkb.
But who gives a damn Fuck. -
Sometimes I wonder... why they bother to convene an EGM to vote on the Proposed Transactions?Originally posted by dragg:you are wrong. only major shareholders have the right.
minority shareholders cant even kpkb.
I thought certain issues the Majority shareholder will abstain from voting?(but in this case not lah) -
Let's put it in another way. Assume a prospective buyer puts in a bid to buy our national stadium with the promise of modernisation, or a takeover bid of SIA was proposed by some Malcom Glazer wannabe.Originally posted by shade343:I dont understand why people kpkb about the Raffles Hotel...Its not urs lor. If anybody want to kpkb about the deal, it should be the shareholders of RHL. They are the people who have a stake in it.
But I see nothing to kpkb about leh...
We might wind up watching live matches of our national team, yet feel as if we were on away soil. Or fly SIA only to realise it is no longer our national carrier but a media mogul's private collection.
Allow all our national assets to be bought up and we set a dangerous precedence for foreign investors. One day we will wake up and the only thing that reminds us of national pride is the HDB flat we sleep in at night.
Does that comfort you?