Dalata Hotels has agreed a EUR1.4 billion takeover bid from Scandinavian partners Pandox and Eiendomsspar AS.
The move represents a strong result for shareholders in the Irish listed company, who receive EUR6.45 per share. That represents a premium of more than one third over the share price in March 2025, when a formal review and potential sale process were set in motion.
The deal will provide a major reset in the European hotel space. Pandox, already a major owner of hotels across the continent, will grow substantially, adding a further 56 properties to its portfolio, all currently trading under the Clayton and Maldron brands.
At the same time, the deal has also presented an opportunity for Scandinavian hotel operator Scandic. The company, which operates leasehold hotels across the Nordics and in Germany, has agreed to acquire the operational business of Dalata from the takeover partners.
The takeover offer was made on a full cash basis. Pandox and Eiendomsspar will use their own existing cash resources and borrowing facilities, while also receiving further funding support from an existing lender to Pandox, DNB Bank ASA.
“Dalata’s portfolio consists of well-established and highly profitable four-star hotels in strong locations, which will further expand Pandox’s footprint in several large, dynamic and growing hotel markets in Northern Europe,” said Pandox CEO Liia Nou. “The hotel properties are of high technical standard and will contribute positively to the overall quality of Pandox’s hotel property portfolio.”
In total, the deal will include 56 hotels, of which 31 are investment properties, either fully owned or on long leaseholds. A further 22 hotels are on long leases, with three operating under management agreements. Most of the properties are located in the UK and Ireland, with additional recent additions in Germany and the Netherlands.
Over time, there may be the potential for Pandox to reposition and rebrand some of the hotel properties in its enlarged portfolio. This could include adding Maldron and Clayton hotels in new destinations, or rebranding some UK and Irish hotels to other brands represented in the Pandox international portfolio.
Dalata has also continued to plan for growth, having a strong pipeline of additional properties to come. These include a Maldron Hotel adjacent to Dublin’s Croke Park Stadium; and Clayton hotels in London, Edinburgh, Cambridge and Dublin, as well as Manchester airport.
The group had also been looking to grow across mainland Europe. It had already signed to add a new hotel in Berlin, the Clayton Hotel Tiergarten, building a presence in Germany, while also adding its first hotel in Spain, the Clayton Hotel Valdebebas in Madrid.
As a major hotel landlord, Pandox also actively manages its portfolio, consistently upgrading and repositioning properties. In Brussels, it is currently extending the DoubleTree by Hilton Brussels City by adding rooms on an adjacent plot. And in the Scottish city of Glasgow, Pandox is refurbishing the 247 room Radisson Blu hotel.
