The Ala Moana Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii has been bought by Gold Coast hotel and resorts operator Mantra Group.
Mantra has acquired the hotel through a wholly owned subsidiary for $US52.5 million.
The 1086 key hotel is a six minute walk away from the Hawaii Convention Centre, a block from the Ala Moana Beach Park, and 2km from the world famous Waikiki Beach.
The assets to be acquired include the condominium hotel and freehold title to the manager’s lot real estate including restaurants, conference facilities, reception and car parking.
“Ala Moana is located in Honolulu, Hawaii, which has consistently been a strong performer as a holiday and business events destination,” the company said in a statement.
“Honolulu is Hawaii’s most popular tourism precinct with proven appeal to United States domestic, Australian, European and Asian visitor markets, providing a strong base occupancy for the Ala Moana property.”
To fund the hotel acquisition, Mantra will tap investors in a $100 million institutional placement undertaken by Macquarie and UBS, with plans to sell 27 million shares at $3.70 a share.
The offer price represents a 7.7 percent discount to Mantra shares’ last traded price of $4.01.
The extra cash will be used to fund new acquisition opportunities.
Mantra entered a trading halt yesterday ahead of the launch of the equity raising.
“The Ala Moana acquisition is an exciting opportunity for the Mantra Group, providing a platform to enter a new offshore market with a significant property that is well aligned to Mantra Group’s core business, expertise and growth strategy,” Mantra chief executive Bob East said.
