BRISBANE – Australia’s Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (FLT.AX) said on Wednesday it has sold its Asia-based hotel management business, Cross Hotels and Resorts, to South Korea’s Sono International Co. Ltd.
The divested business, which includes Cross Hotels and Resorts and PT Bespoke Hospitality Management Indonesia, manages a portfolio of 17 hotels across Thailand and Indonesia, comprising more than 1,500 rooms, the travel agency said in a statement.
Flight Centre Managing Director Graham Turner said the sale would secure Cross’s future “as part of a large and expanding hotel management organisation,” while allowing Flight Centre to concentrate on other growth ventures within its Horizon Three division.
The Horizon Three portfolio includes other specialised travel brands such as Europe-based coach touring businesses Topdeck and Back-Roads, Asia-based destination management company Discova, and cycle touring operator Grasshopper.
Turner highlighted recent plans to relaunch Topdeck as a small-group tour operator and the expansion of Discova into new community projects and geographies.
Sono International is a diversified leisure operator with interests in hotels, golf courses, and ski resorts. The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed and were described as not material to Flight Centre.
CBRE Group Inc (CBRE.N) acted as the exclusive sell-side advisor for the transaction.