MHRIL TO ACQUIRE STAKE IN HOLIDAY CLUB RESORTS OY, FINLAND

Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India (MHRIL) has signed definitive agreements with the shareholders of Holiday Club Resorts Oy, Finland to initially acquire18.8 per cent of its shares with a right to increase its ownership over a period of two years. This initial acquisition will be completed in a month’s time subject to required regulatory approvals.

Commenting on the acquisition, Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group, said, “The acquisition of Holiday Club Resorts will elevate Mahindra Holidays to a global leader in the vacation ownership industry. This timely acquisition not only provides access to European assets, technology and processes, but more importantly, provides a springboard to Mahindra Holidays for growth in Europe and other international destinations.”

Holiday Club Resorts Oy (Holiday Club) is a leading vacation ownership company in Europe with 32 resorts, 24 of which are located in Finland, two in Sweden and six in Spain (one in Costa del Sol and five in Gran Canaria). Seven of these resorts have spa hotels with indoor water parks, three have golf course and there are five indoor theme parks for children called ‘Angry Birds Activity Parks’.

Commenting on the deal, Arun Nanda, Chairman, Mahindra Holidays, said, “This acquisition is part of a larger vision to widen our international footprint. We are excited at the prospect of expanding in Europe and the Middle East along with Holiday Club. We like the company for the quality of its management team, its emphasis on innovation and its expertise in design and speedy construction of cost efficient resorts. We are confident that synergies from this acquisition will fuel and propel our future growth.”

Holiday Club has a membership base of about 50,000 families and is a leading leisure brand in Europe. It has an efficient sales and marketing organisation in addition to strong core competencies in the design of holiday homes and apartments, spa hotels and resort management. Recently, Holiday Club has also successfully begun selling fractional membership, a concept that has been well received by its European clients.

The proposed acquisition will enable Mahindra Holidays to make significant inroads into the European markets and to leverage Holiday Club’s expertise in the vacation ownership model, as well as its strong technology platform and talent pool. Once full ownership is achieved, the combined entity has the potential to become the largest vacation ownership company in the world, outside the United States.

Also commenting on the deal, Vesa Tengman, CEO, Holiday Club, said, “We warmly welcome a new shareholder with such a good reputation in the vacation ownership industry. We are excited about the various development opportunities and synergies that the collaboration of two market leaders will bring about. We look forward to prospecting new opportunities to expand further in Europe.”