Chinese budget hotel operator, Home Inns & Hotels, has completed the acquisition eJia Express Hotels.
The 100% ownership stake in the economy hotel group was purchased CNY59.8 million (US$9.4m) in cash.
eJia Express is a regional economy hotel chain based in Anhui province, and operates 13 leased-and-operated hotels with a total of 1,284 rooms. Nine of these are located in Anhui’s capital city, Hefei. All of the 13 eJia Express hotels will be rebranded as Home Inns, significantly boosting the company’s presence in Anhui. Prior to the eJia acquisition, the company operated 18 Home Inns and 14 Motel 168 properties in Anhui.
“We are very excited about the completion of the eJia Express acquisition, which allows us to add 13 strategic hotel locations at a highly attractive valuation in the economically vibrant Anhui province,” said David Sun, Home Inns’ CEO. “We expect to quickly integrate these hotels into the Home Inns brand portfolio which includes more than 1,100 hotels in China. We are confident that this acquisition will be additive to our overall business and will help us continue to create long term value for our shareholders.”
The conversion and rebranding of the eJia hotels be take place gradually over the next six months.