Skift Take
Can an independent hotel group with just three properties now survive as the industry keeps consolidating? If the brand is Soneva, yes, and new backing is taking it forward.
Just when you think “barefoot luxury” hotel brand Soneva is enjoying the slow life, a new significant minority stake in the company by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and U.S.-based private equity firm KSL Capital Partners will see a spurt of expansion that will double the number of Soneva properties in three years.
Sources tell Skift that GIC and an affiliate of KSL are in partnership for a 35 to 40 percent stake in Soneva Holdings, following the exit of Sailing Capital upon the end of its five-year term, which its CEO Liang Tsui said had “delivered a healthy return.” Soneva founder, chairman and CEO of the group, Sonu Shivdasani, and his wife Eva, hold the rest of the shares in the company.
The two funds will infuse up to $200 million in cash for Soneva’s planned expansion in the next 36 months. Three new resorts, two in the Maldives and one in Okinawa, Japan, have been pre-approved.
What's more, they will allocate $30 million of growth capital in Soneva Holdings that would go towards enlarging or upgrading existing assets and facilities/services, sources tell Skift.
As part of this new funding, a separate property company will be set up to develop the new properties. For that company, Shivdasani has pledged 50 percent of the shares of two resorts, Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani, for a 50 percent share in the new company, with the other 50 percent held by GIC and KSL.
GIC could not be reached for a comment at press time. Tina Yu, a principal partner at KSL, declined to comment beyond her official press statement. “The more we have gotten to know Soneva, the more excited we are about the opportunities to help Soneva grow.” .
“At KSL, we invest solely in travel and leisure, and we recognize the power of the Soneva brand platform in the expanding market for luxury experiential travel," Yu added. "Soneva has 25 years of experience operating at the very highest level and have been pioneers in creating rare authentic experiences for their guests.
