GIC, a sovereign wealth fund of Singapore, is the new majority shareholder of the Sani / Ikos Group (SIG), a group that manages 10 luxury all-inclusive resorts along the Mediterranean coast, in Greece and Spain. According to a press release, the deal, the largest in Europe since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, values ​​the Sani / Ikos group (headquarter in Greece) at around 2.3 billion euros (2.27 billion dollars). The transaction is expected to close by the end of this year. The founders, Stavros Andreadis, Andreas Andreadis and Mathieu Guillemin, will remain significant shareholders of the group. As part of this transaction, the funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management LP, the funds managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Moonstone, Florac and Hermes GPE will sell their shares to GIC.

Andreas Andreadis and Mathieu Guillemin will continue to manage SIG as CEO and Co-Managing Partner, while Stavros Andreadis will become Honorary President of the Group. Last year, the group issued € 300 million in senior secured bonds, maturing in 2026, and which are expected to remain in effect after the transaction closes. GIC also plans to invest over 900 million euros in the Sani / Ikos Group in the five years following the closing of the deal. Sani / Ikos Group currently manages more than 2,750 keys, and a further 1,578 are the keys in the pipeline of 4 resorts, one of which is soon to open in Portugal. Recall that in 2019, GIC invested approximately $ 600 million in Indian Hotels Company Limited, the company that manages Taj Hotels, among other brands, in a three-year agreement. It also acquired a 25% stake in the citizenM hotel chain, for a value of € 2bn. We also recall that, involving assets in our country, GIC, in June of this year, together with APG (the main Dutch pension fund), took over substantial stakes in The Student Hotels group from Aermont Capital. The deal saw APG and founder Charlie MacGregor increase their current stake in TSH, along with GIC as a new investor.