Marriott International, a hospitality company with more than 3,800 properties and 19 hotel brands, has signed a letter of intent with Protea Hospitality Holdings of Cape Town, South Africa, to acquire Protea Hotels’ brands and its management business that operates or franchises 116 hotels across three brands with 10,184 rooms in South Africa and six other Sub-Saharan African countries.
The transaction will nearly double Marriott’s distribution in Africa to more than 23,000 rooms, and provide Marriott with a proven operational platform and leadership team to accelerate its expansion plans and solidify its leadership position in the African hotel market.
Protea, founded in 1984, manages, franchises and leases 104 hotels across the Protea Hotels brand, including two Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! hotels and the African Pride Hotels collection. Protea also has a significant presence in Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
As part of the transaction, Protea Hospitality Holdings will create a property ownership company to retain ownership of the hotels it currently owns, and enter into long-term management and lease agreements with Marriott for these hotels. It will also retain a number of minority interests in other Protea-managed hotels. Marriott will manage approximately 46% of the rooms, franchise approximately 40%, and lease approximately 14%.