Four Seasons CEO to Suitors: Thanks, But No Thanks
Photo Credit: J. Allen Smith, CEO of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts speaking at Skift Global Forum. Skift
Skift Take
As a large independent hotel company with a distinctive luxury brand, Four Seasons is always going to be a takeover target but it sounds like it is more likely to be a buyer rather than a seller.
Marriott's purchase of Starwood and AccorHotels' continued appetite for dealmaking highlight the potential for mergers and acquisitions in the hotel sector but one company won't be changing hands anytime soon.
J. Allen Smith, CEO of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts said that although the brand would likely be attractive to buyers, it was off the the table.
"I don't think there's any doubt that Four Seasons would be a target if it was available – it's not available," he said at the Skift Global Forum in New York City on Friday.
Bill Gates and Saudi businessman Prince al-Waleed bought Four Seasons for $3.8 billion back in 2007 and have sufficiently deep pockets to make Four Seasons a potential buyer but Smith, who will leave the company later this year, said any deals would have to be carefully thought through.
"We're unique. We're a single brand focused exclusively on luxury," he said. "We've remained very true to that. And for the time being, I expec
