Louvre Hotels Group, the second largest hotel group in Europe, has announced its acquisition of a majority stake in Sarovar Hotels, the largest independent Indian hotel chain in terms of hotels and presence. The European hotel group continues to rollout its international expansion plans with this, its first investment of size in the Indian subcontinent. India, with its fast-growing economy, its global tourism potential and a significant under-penetration of branded hotel rooms, represents a new opportunity and a strategic market of more than 1.2 billion inhabitants for the group. After launching a far-reaching scheme to strengthen its positions in China and South-East Asia, Louvre Hotels Group continues to boost its presence in South Asia, keeping up with the region’s constantly growing leisure and business tourism. The group has decided to become a majority stakeholder in Sarovar Hotels, an Indian company made up of 75 hotels on the premium, mid-range and budget sectors, through three leading brands: Sarovar Premiere; Sarovar Portico; and Hometel.   In addition to the above three brands, the group also has two well established F&B brands – The Geoffrey’s Pub and the Oriental Blossom – and manages the lodging and catering facilities of various institutions in India. Furthermore, the group manages 10 hotels under the Radisson, Park Plaza and Park Inn brands.   Sarovar Hotels was founded in 1994 by Anil Madhok, a hotel industry expert on India, Singapore and Sri Lanka markets. It is also run by Ajay K Bakaya and Mansoor Adil, who have built it into a robust and effective hotel platform combining marketing, human resources, operations, management and technical services.   Leveraging its hotel expertise and seasoned management staff, Sarovar has developed significantly over the past five years, growing from 4,500 to nearly 6,000 rooms in over 50 cities. Sarovar has a secured pipeline of over 20 hotels, most of which are due to join the network shortly.   Over the last few years, Sarovar also started to develop its brands outside its boundaries, targeting Africa, and more significantly Eastern Africa, which de facto also strengthens Louvre Hotels Group positioning as the largest hotel group in this part of the world.   There will be no change in management of the Sarovar Group and this strong and experienced team will continue to provide its expertise and manage the hotels under its brands. Both hotel groups share the desire to continue developing Sarovar Hotels brands. This powerful platform will also sustain the development of Louvre Hotels Group brand which has been present in the Indian sub-continent since 2007 and currently manages 22 hotels under its Golden Tulip Umbrella brand.   This transaction between Louvre Hotels Group and Sarovar Hotels offers unprecedented synergies between strong local brands and the world’s fifth largest hotel group. Respective hotel owners for both groups will benefit immediately from such synergies including local and international management expertise, world-wide distribution, loyalty programs, sales and marketing initiatives, and procurement services while continuing to benefit from the experience of the local management .   This deal clearly demonstrates the ambition of Louvre Hotels Group; boosting its development through strategic deals on high potential markets.   “Number 2 in Europe, Number 1 in China, and now a leader in India, we really are a major global player, present in all major markets, and in all the hospitality segments. Sarovar is a fantastic platform, very promising for the future, mostly due to the professionalism and the local expertise of its smart team.” emphasises Pierre-Frédéric Roulot, CEO, Louvre Hotels Group.   “Over the last two decades, Sarovar Hotels has grown to be one of the fastest growing hospitality chains in India. The association with Louvre Hotels Group will help us to spread our wings further and we will continue to develop our brands. With local and international capabilities, we aim to be the leading brand in the business and bring in major benefits to our guests”, comments Anil Madhok, Executive Chairman, Sarovar Hotels.   Avendus Capital was the sole and exclusive advisor to the shareholders of the Sarovar Group in this transaction.