30 June 2006
Banff Springs Hotel May be Up for Sale: Report
Banff Alberta - The historic Banff Springs hotel is
reported to be up for sale in the wake of the merger of Fairmont Hotels and Raffles Hotels.
The Times of London reported that the Banff Springs hotel is on a list of 15 properties that the recently joined Fairmont Raffles has
put up for sale to raise about $2.5 billion US.
A Fairmont spokesperson said the company has appointed agents to market six hotels, but did not specify whether the Banff Springs hotel
would be sold.
Nestled in the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, the Banff Springs hotel was commissioned in 1886 by William Van Horne, then general manager
of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The hotel officially opened on 1 Jun 1888. It was declared a Canadian historic site in
1992.
In January, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts agreed to be bought by Colony Capital and a Canadian firm owned by Kingdom Hotels
International. The friendly merger was Fairmont's way of fending off a takeover by U.S. financier Carl Icahn.
Kingdom is owned by Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Abdulaziz Alsaud, one of the richest men in the world, while Colony Capital
owns the Asian-based Raffles hotel chain.
The combined Fairmont Raffles has 120 properties in 24 countries.
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