DoubleDragon ventures into hotel business

Screengrab from doubledragon.com.ph

DoubleDragon Properties Corp. has completed a deal to buy a 70-percent stake in hotel developer and operator Hotel of Asia Inc. (HOA) for P832.17 million, marking its entry into the hospitality business.

HOA has 855 hotel rooms under its wings under homegrown condotel brand Hotel 101 and the local franchise of Jinjiang Inn, one of the largest hotel brands in Asia.

DoubleDragon chair Edgar Sia II believes the hospitality industry will continue to be one of the fastest growing sectors and would be an ideal vehicle for DoubleDragon to create another recurring revenue stream.

HOA was created in 2011 as a joint venture among Sia’s Injap Investments Inc., Chan C. Bros. Holdings, Inc. (CCBHI) of the Oishi Group and Staniel Realty Development Corp. (SRDC).

The hotel company will soon add another 608 rooms to its portfolio with the development of Hotel 101-Fort located adjacent to C5 nearly across SM Aura and Market Market.

In consideration for its stake in the hotel business, Injap Investments has been paid with DoubleDragon common shares priced at a 5 percent premium over the 30-day weighted average of the closing price of common shares preceding closing date of the transaction,  which is P61.34 per share, the company said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

With the closing of the transaction, Injap Investments has fully divested its interests in HOA and consolidated into DoubleDragon while CCBHI and SRDC will retain a stake of 15 percent each in HOA.

The acquisition of HOA, which booked a P113.4-million net income in 2015, is seen to allow DoubleDragon to benefit from the booming tourism sector and fully optimize the use of its string of prime properties in various strategic areas of the country.