Hotel group in largest Norwegian LBO ever

US LBO specialist Starwood Capital and Swedish property investor Niam have bid €1.4bn for Norwegian hotel group Norgani Hotels, making it the largest LBO in Norwegian history.

Norgani only changed hands eight months ago when it was bought by Norwegian Property, a local real estate group, and Scandic Hotels in a €1.3bn deal.

Norgani has a portfolio of 74 hotels in the Nordic region, making it Europe’s fifth largest hotel property investor. Potential owner Niam is one of the region’s largest property owners. In February it launched its fourth property fund with approximately €700m of equity and an investment capacity of €2.5 to €3bn.

Starwood Capital is also a real estate specialist, but invests across the board from offices in Greenwich, Atlanta and San Francisco in the US.