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Mantra expands on eve of equity raising
Mantra has secured several new hotels
FLOAT candidate Mantra is preparing to boost its 55-strong hotel network to over 12,000 rooms under management ahead of next week’s equity raising, with acquisitions in Melbourne and Brisbane and a new-build property to open in Perth next year.
The group has purchased two properties in Melbourne and Brisbane from Mint Hotels & Apartments, a subsidiary of carpark and marina owner and operator Ariadne Australia that was seeking to offload its non-core hotel assets.
Once Mantra acquires the management rights for the properties they will be rebranded as Mantra St Kilda Road Melbourne, with 159 rooms, and the Mantra Riverside Brisbane, offering 185 suite apartments. Meanwhile, the hotel and resort operator will next week look to tap investors for as much as $400 million during a bookbuild managed by Macquarie and UBS.
The offer is to be priced at $2-$2.60 a share, and would see Mantra list with a market capitalisation of more than $476m if it goes ahead.
A $25m hotel under construction in Perth by WEJ Developments will be also be run by Mantra when it opens late next year. The 15-level hotel will be located at the Kings Square precinct near Perth Arena and have 120 rooms.
The group also recently signed up the 181-room Manta Townsville hotel and 100-room Peppers Docklands hotel in Melbourne, on which construction is set to begin in the next couple of months.
Mantra also has two hotels in New Zealand and one in Bali.
Source: The Australian - 22 March 2014
