Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) announced today that it will be investing $70 million in Red Planet Hotels, a pan-Asian budget hotel chain. (For more, see also: Alternative Travel: Discount Hotels and More Online.)
The capital infusion will be used by Red Planet to further expand its footprint in the Asia-Pacific region by opening 10 more hotels in the next two years, said the press release about the investment.
Red Planet has raised a total of $240 million in funding since 2011. According to the company, it is planning on raising another round of funding before going public. (For related reading, see: Top 5 Most Profitable Hotel Companies.)
Tim Hansing, CEO of Red Planet Hotels, hailed the Goldman Sachs’ investment as a significant milestone for the company.
“We have created a unique customer-facing IT platform that is without parallel in our market. We now have substantial growth opportunities not only in our existing markets but also in additional countries where we are confident our brand and product will excel,” Hansing said. “To have our company, our people, our product, and our brand be funded by Goldman Sachs indeed gives us the confidence that we are on the right track to our stated goal of a 2018 IPO.”
Goldman Sachs, too, expressed considerable enthusiasm over its newly forged partnership with Red Planet.
In the same press release announcing the investment, Jonathan Vanica, a managing director at Goldman Sachs, said, “The growth of travel, coupled with the evolving demands for more diverse and cost-efficient hospitality platforms, is leading to new opportunities for entrepreneurial companies in Asia. We anticipate our capital will help Red Planet Hotels accelerate its expansion throughout the region.”
Founded in 2010, Red Planet Hotels owns and operates hotels in Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines and Thailand. Currently, its Jakarta and Tokyo-based companies trade on the Indonesian and Japanese stock exchanges, respectively.
Source: http://www.investopedia.com/news/goldman-sachs-invests-red-planet-hotels-gs/