Latest news with #LiiaNõu
Times
20-07-2025
- Business
- Times
Meet the woman behind the €1.4bn Dalata buyout coup
Liia Nõu, chief executive of Pandox, the Swedish hotel investment group, reveals on a Microsoft Teams call that she has just taken up golf. Her favourite player? Rory McIlroy. Having just agreed to pay €1.4 billion for Dalata, Ireland's largest hotel group, Nõu has displayed the touch of a master. Even Alf Smiddy, a senior independent director at Dalata up to 2021, and a critic of the proposed deal, saluted Pandox and its largest shareholder, Eiendomsspar, for the 'textbook execution' of a takeover bid. 'They played a blinder — confident, fast, savvy and strategic,' Smiddy posted on LinkedIn last week. He is dismayed, however, at the 'surrender of the Dalata board'. Eiendomsspar, which owns 36 per cent of Stockholm-quoted Pandox, teed up the transaction. It built a stake in the owner of the Clayton and Maldron hotel brands in the wake of a capital markets day last October. Five months later, the board of Dalata announced a strategic review, including a formal sales process (FSP). 'That opened up the opportunity to Pandox,' Nõu says.
Irish Independent
15-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Nordic group to buy Dalata for €1.4bn
Pandox and Eiendomsspar, which had a bid rejected six weeks ago, have upped their offer by €0.40 to €6.45 per share. This is a 35.5pc premium to where the Dalata price stood before the hotel operator launched a strategic review and formal sale process on March 5. It was then €4.76. The improved bid is a 49.7pc premium to the 12-month volume-weighted average Dalata share price, and represents an acquisition equity value of €1.4bn. The earlier offer had valued the company at €1.3bn, but was rejected by the board on the basis that it materially undervalued the group. The acquisition must now be approved by Dalata shareholders. In a statement, Dalata pointed out that the equity value of the offer represents the highest market capitalisation for the company since its flotation in 2014. It also pointed out that the price is higher than anything offered during the formal sales process, which involved two rounds of bidding from both trade and financial buyers. 'The offer represents compelling value for shareholders following the persistent under valuation of Dalata over the previous years,' the company said. 'The offer provides investors with certainty of value, enabling them to realise the value of their investment in cash.' Eiendomsspar, one of the largest property owners in Norway, with its portfolio including 11 hotels, already had an 8.8pc stake in Dalata at the time of its first bid. It controls 36pc of the shares in Pandox, a Swedish firm that owns 163 hotels across 11 countries in Europe, with about 36,000 rooms. Based in Stockholm, Pandox develops and then leases hotels to operators under long-term deals. Its hotels in Ireland operate under the Leonardo brand. Liia Nõu, the chief executive of Pandox, said: 'Dalata's portfolio consists of well-established and highly profitable four-star hotels in strong locations, which will further expand Pandox's footprint in several large, dynamic and growing hotel markets in Northern Europe. The hotel properties are of high technical standard and will contribute positively to the overall quality of Pandox's hotel property portfolio.' The offer will be made through a newly incorporated company, Pandox Ireland Tuck Limited. The acquisition is being financed from a combination of existing cash resources available to the two companies, and a loan facility provided to Pandox by its existing lender DNB Bank. Established in 2007, Dalata has expanded into a leading four-star hotel platform in Ireland and the UK and now has 56 properties, plus 22 leased hotels. Dermot Crowley, the company's chief executive, said: 'This represents an exciting new chapter for Dalata in which we will become part of a larger hotel platform and will further accelerate our growth. I'm proud to continue to lead our team in close partnership with our new owners. Together, we will unlock new opportunities for the Clayton and Maldron brands as we continue to expand as a leading international hotel company.' John Hennessy, the chair of Dalata, said: 'Following a thorough and rigorous strategic review, incorporating a formal sales process, the board has determined unanimously that this transaction delivers compelling value and represents the best available strategic option for our shareholders. "We believe that it is the right path forward for all stakeholders, and that it positions the business strongly for its next phase of growth under new ownership.'
Irish Examiner
15-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Nordic consortium announces €1.4bn takeover of Dalata Hotel Group
A consortium of nordic hotel companies has announced a €1.4bn takeover of Irish hotel company Dalata, following a previous failed attempt, which has been accepted by the company's board. In its announcement, Pandox AB and Eiendomsspar said they have, through a newly incorporated company Bidco, announced a firm intention to make a cash offer for the entire share capital of Dalata Hotel Group plc. The acquisition, at €6.45 a share, represents a premium of approximately 35.5% of the closing Dalata share price of €4.76 on March 5 2025 which was the last business day prior to the announcement by Dalata of the commencement of its strategic Review and formal sale process. Since then Dalata shares have increased and on Monday were trading at over €6.50. In early June, the board of Dalata rejected a €1.3bn takeover bid from the company, valued at €6.05 per share, as it believed it undervalued the company. The acquisition values the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Dalata at approximately €1.4bn, on a fully diluted basis. The board of Dalata has approved the acquisition as they believe it is in the best interests of shareholders. Liia Nõu, chief executive of Pandox, said Dalata's portfolio consists of 'well-established and highly profitable four-star hotels in strong locations' which will 'contribute positively to the overall quality of Pandox's hotel property portfolio'. Pandox is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, and its portfolio currently consists of 163 hotel properties, with approximately 36,000 rooms across 11 countries in Northern Europe. Eiendomsspar Eiendomsspar is one of the largest real estate owners in Norway where it owns 11 hotels with another two hotels under construction. Eiendomsspar also controls approximately 36% of the voting shares of Pandox. Bidco is a private company limited by shares incorporated under the laws of Ireland for the purpose of implementing the acquisition and is wholly-owned by Pandox and Eiendomsspar. On completion of the acquisition, it is expected that Bidco will be 91.5% owned by Pandox 8.5% by Eiendomsspar. Bidco has signed a framework agreement with Scandic Hotels Group to be an operating partner for the existing Dalata portfolio from completion of the acquisition, with the intention, post-completion, to separate the real estate and hotel operating businesses in the Dalata Group. The announcement said that the consortium is committed to Dalata staff as well as maintaining Dublin headquarters as part of a larger and well-established pan-European hotel platform. Dermot Crowley, chief executive of Dalata, said this deal represents an 'exciting new chapter for Dalata in which we will become part of a larger hotel platform and will further accelerate our growth'. 'Our focus remains firmly on our people and our customers. I'm proud to continue to lead our team in close partnership with our new owners. Together, we will unlock new opportunities for the Clayton and Maldron brands as we continue to expand as a leading international hotel company,' he said. The acquisition is still subject to approval by Dalata shareholders. Dalata's current portfolio comprises a portfolio of 56 hotel businesses, including 31 freehold and long leasehold properties, 22 leasehold hotels and three managed hotels in the Republic of Ireland, the UK, Germany and the Netherlands
