The Blue Sea hotel group, as Maspalomas24H announced last January, is in the final stages of negotiations to acquire the Meeting Point business, which could put an end to the financial restructuring that the Canary Islands company, belonging to the German group FTI Touristik, has been carrying out. If this operation goes through, it would ensure the continuity of one of the main companies in the Canary Islands, which has a hotel division that includes 26 hotels under lease and an offer of 4.000 rooms, as well as a tour operator division dedicated to the organization of trips and retail sales.
The deal is expected to be finalised this week, providing a respite for Sepi, one of the main creditors, which had seen its recovery of state support compromised following Meeting Point's entry into the pre-bankruptcy phase. Financial sector sources indicate that Blue Sea, which was acquired by Portobello Capital in 2017 and which last year incorporated Partners Group, is in a position to stabilise the company through a new injection of capital. This move is in line with the firm's strategy of continuing to expand its hotel portfolio and improve average daily rates.
Although the initial agreement focuses on assets located in Spain, the full scope of the acquisition has not yet been defined, given that Meeting Point Hotels operates more than 60 properties and 13,000 rooms in eight countries, including key destinations such as Morocco, Malta, Italy, Greece, Croatia, Turkey and Egypt, as well as the Canary Islands. Over the past few months, Meeting Point has been in talks with its creditors, including BBVA, Banco Santander and CaixaBank, to restructure its debt and establish a new capital structure. The financial institutions had expressed their intention to disengage if a new investor emerged, which has accelerated negotiations as the end of the pre-bankruptcy phase approached.
Sepi, which has been part of these discussions, has received a request to modify its payment schedule. During the COVID-19 crisis, Meeting Point requested up to 66 million euros from its rescue fund, although it finally received just over 35 million in participatory and ordinary loans. To manage this complex situation, Meeting Point has appointed FTI Consulting as its main advisor, a firm that shares its name with its German parent company, which recently entered into suspension of payments. Aureen has been selected as the restructuring firm in charge of guiding the process, working with the different entities affected, such as Meeting Point Hotel Management Canaries and Meeting Point Spain.
