Raffles Holdings

Raffles Holdings SGX: R03 was the parent company of Raffles International. It is owned by Temasek Holdings which is the investment arm of the Singapore government.

In 2005, Raffles Holdings' hotel business ranked 17th or 18th in the world in terms of market capitalization and number of rooms, all marketed under the Raffles and Swissôtel brand names.

History

The company was incorporated on August 26, 1995. On July 18, 2005 Raffles Holdings announced its sale to Colony Capital, LLC for about US$1 billion, including outstanding debt. The deal, worth 1.72 billion Singapore dollars, includes all 41 hotels and resorts. Its most prominent establishment is the luxurious 103-suite Raffles Hotel in Singapore, built in 1887.

CapitaLand Ltd., Southeast Asia's largest property developer that owned 59.7 percent of Raffles Holdings, would gain the equivalent of US$362 million from the sale and plans to pay shareholders a special dividend of 23 U.S. cents a share. The cash price for the hotels is 1.45 billion Singapore dollars, or US$859 million. The transaction is subject to approval by shareholders.

CapitaLand has said it will vote in favor of the sale. Explaining the reason for the sale, Raffles Chief Executive Jennie Chua said "To grow, the hotel business would need significant investments and potential cash calls and that's something we would not like to do," at a press conference.