Mandarin Oriental hospitality group to go private in £3.1b deal

The Mandarin Oriental hospitality group is to be taken private by its majority shareholder in a $4.2b (£3.1b) deal.

Hong Kong-based investment company Jardine Matheson already holds an 88.04% stake in the luxury group and will now buy the remaining 11.96% of shares through its subsidiary Bidco.

The offer coincides with Mandarin Oriental’s agreement to sell the top 13 floors of its flagship One Causeway Bay tower in Hong Kong to Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group and Ant Group for $925m (£689m).

Jardine Matheson said the buyout would allow it to “deliver superior, long-term returns" from its business portfolio in Asia while “better supporting Mandarin Oriental in achieving its growth objectives”.

The company said Mandarin Oriental shares have historically suffered from “low trading volumes and low liquidity”, leaving the group to be persistently undervalued.

The deal is believed to represent an “attractive premium” on historical closing prices of Mandarin Oriental shares.

Once the acquisition completes, Mandarin Oriental will be delisted from the London Stock Exchange, the Singapore Exchange and the Bermuda Stock Exchange.

The scheme is expected to become effective by 28 February 2026.

Mandarin Oriental Group operates 43 hotels, 12 residences and 26 homes in 27 countries and territories. These include the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park and Mandarin Oriental Mayfair in London.

Jardine Matheson was founded in China in 1832.

It is the latest in a series of deals to take hospitality companies from public to private ownership this year. In August, Soho House was taken over by a group of investors including MCR Hotels and actor Ashton Kutcher in a deal worth around $2.7b (£2b). The move saw the London-based members’ club move back to private ownership after a rocky four years on the New York Stock Exchange.

UK restaurant and bar group Loungers also left the London Stock Exchange after its £354m sale to US investment firm Fortress in February.