HÀ NỘI — InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has acquired 51 per cent stake in Regent Hotels and Resorts for US$39 million, a move that will accelerate its expansion in the luxury hotel segment.

With this deal, Regent Hotels and Resorts will become the top high-end brand in the IHG hotel brand chain.

IHG said it expected to expand the Regent brand hotels from six, or 2,000 rooms, to 40 hotels (or 10,000 rooms) in the future.

The deal is being touted as historic, as it has changed the course of the race, giving IHG a strong competitive edge in the luxury segment. The group can now take on other popular brands such as the Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis of Marriott International, Waldorf Astoria, Park Hyatt and Four Seasons, which operates as the biggest monobrand luxury player. This is considered a strategic step for IHG to expand its mark in the luxury segment, which is valued at $60 billion worldwide.

It also gives IHG a better proposition through hotel owners and developers, as it competes for management deals with other fast-expanding uber luxury names, such as Accor’s Raffles, Dorchester Collection, Shangri-la Hotels and Resorts, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, and New World’s Rosewood Hotels & Resorts.

Regent was founded in 1970 by legendary hotelier Robert H. Burns, who served as chief executive officer and chairman of Regent International Hotels from 1970 to 1992.

Keith Barr, chief executive officer of IHG, said, “Regent is an excellent addition to the IHG brand portfolio. We see a real opportunity to open up Regent’s tremendous potential and accelerate its growth globally.”

“IHG shares our vision for the brand and has the ability to make our ambition a reality,” said Steve Pan, executive chairman of Formosa International Hotels Corporation, which owns and manages Regent Hotels and Resorts.

In 2017, Regent reached an agreement to become the executive manager of the prestigious Regent Residences Phu Quoc resort, in which prestigious real estate developer BIM Group has invested.

Regent Residences Phu Quoc has been positioned as one of the first six-star hotel complex in Việt Nam’s leading tourist island. With this acquisition, Regent Residences Phu Quoc will become an outstanding product, the first to be named Regent under the management of IHG. This is also the third project to follow the strategic partnership between BIM Group and IHG.

This partnership makes the BIM Group’s project "unique" in the market. Once again, IHG has reaffirmed its position, continuing to achieve the top value for super-luxury resorts.

Located right in the centre of Bãi Trường, Regent Residences Phu Quoc is the third component of the Phu Quoc Marina tourist complex, adjacent to the Phu Quoc Long Beach Resort. The development of the project illustrates the future of a high-end tourism complex that brings together leading resort brands, through owning luxury spaces and providing services such as relaxation, entertainment and delicate cuisine.

Regent Residences Phu Quoc is built on an area of 15ha with only 76 villas and 42 sky villas, 120 hotel rooms and many luxury amenities such as rooftop bar, sky bar, gym, Michelin Star restaurant, beach club and spa. Designed in the typical colours of Vietnamese architecture with a large area of water, the villas of the project are not only diversified in style but also bring space to the unique mineral resort, the target of wealthy investors.

The IHG hotel brand chain currently includes InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo®, EVEN® Hotels, HUALUXE® Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn®, Holiday Inn Express®, Holiday Inn Club Vacations®, Holiday Inn Resort®, avid™ hotels, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®.