Following the approval of the competition authorities on 3 August 2015, the Spanish hotel management company Barceló Group has closed its acquisition of Occidental Hotels Management (the holding company of Occidental Hotels & Resorts). The company already owned 42,5% of the shares since May 2015, but has now closed the transaction of the remaining 57,5% as well.

Senior associate Steffen Hagen and associate Brechtje Huiskes of VANEPS assisted Barceló Group as the local Aruban counsel in the transaction. They performed a due diligence and drafted the transaction documentation.

Occidental Hotels & Resorts owns hotels in – among other countries – Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Aruba. The acquisition is a key step for Barceló in it strategy of growing its footprint in Latin America. For the acquired hotels, a renovation of approximately USD 120 to USD 150mln is planned.