Plans for international growth
The upmarket German hotel group Steigenberger has been sold to Travco, an Egyptian tourist group.
The price of the transaction has not been disclosed.
Steigenberger has about 90 properties under its two brands, the luxury Steigenberger Hotels and the InterCity Hotels.
The majority of both brands are in Germany but there are Steigenberger properties in Austria, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands and Egypt and an InterCity in Vienna.
Until the takeover, the Steigenberger family, who founded the chain in 1930, was the largest shareholder.
The group had a turnover of €494.9m in 2008.
Travco Group International Holdings, owned by Hamed El Chiaty and his family, runs hotels and Nile cruises as well as offering tourism services.
It has a presence in all of Egypt's major cities and tourists resorts and says it has the largest chain of hotels and biggest Nile cruise fleet in the country.
In a statement, Steigenberger said its new "partner" would continue to "pursue and further develop the long-term targets of the company."
It added: "After a period of consolidation of the hotel portfolio, international expansion is the next strategic stage for the Steigenberger Hotel Group."
It said the Steigenberger and Travco hotels perfectly complemented each other and would create "cross selling opportunities...and economies of scale."
André Witschi, Steigenberger's ceo, said: "We want to secure Steigenberger's future in the long run.
"In Travco we have found an experienced partner in the hotel industry which fully supports our initiated strategy.
"The international hotel and travel services of Travco enable us to offer our guests a new world of travel destinations."
Mr El Chiaty, Travco's chairman and ceo, said: "Steigenberger will be the stepping stone of Travco's hotel presence, as well as its entry, into the city hotel business, particularly in the German, Austrian and Swiss markets.
"It will allow the company to strengthen further its position in the quality segments."
www.steigenberger.com www.travcogroup.com