by Donald Wood
Last updated: 3:23 PM ET, Wed June 17, 2015
PHOTO: Occidental Hotels & Resorts' beautiful Royal Hideaway Playacar property will soon become part of the Barcelo Group pending approval from the Mexican government. (Courtesy of Occidental Hotels & Resorts)
In a move announced Wednesday, Barcelo Corporation Empresarial has reached an agreement with BBVA to purchase 57.5 percent of its capital in Occidental Hotels Management, the parent company of Occidental Hotels & Resorts.
According to Occidental, the Barcelo Group will become the sole owner of Occidental Hotels & Resorts once the terms mature between both parties, but the deal also has to go through an authorization process from the governing bodies of competition in Mexico, which could take up to three months.
Once the Barcelo Group receives approval from competition authorities in Mexico, the company can officially obtain the remaining capital and take over the day-to-day management of the Occidental portfolio.
The Occidental brand is synonymous with luxury in the Caribbean, and the backing from the Barcelo Group will help grow a company that already boasts more than 4,000 rooms at 11 hotels in Mexico, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Aruba. The company also owns hotels in Colombia and Haiti.
This agreement falls in line with what the Barcelo Group is trying to accomplish by growing its footprint in Latin America. Not only will the Barcelo Hotels & Resorts brand acquire the assets of Occidental in order to build a bigger portfolio in the Caribbean, but it will also open the company up to new markets like Aruba, Colombia and Haiti.
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