A real-estate company owned by the wealthiest man in Alaska, JL Properties, is finishing its acquisition of one of Iceland's largest hotel chains, the local newspaper Fréttablaðið reports. According to the sources of Fréttablaðið the Anchorage based commercial real estate developer JL Properties is paying 6 billion ISK (58 million USD/51 million EUR) for the hotel chain Keahótel, which operates eight large hotels in Reykjavík and North Iceland.
The current owners of Keahótel are an investment fund owned by state-owned Landsbankinn bank, with 60% stake, a local property developer with a 32% stake and the CEO of Keahótels who owns 8%.
Wealthiest man in Alaska
The CEO and chairman of JL Properties is Jonathan Rubini who is the wealthiest man in Alaska, according to Forbes. Along with his partner Leonard Hyde, Rubini controls some of the largest buildings in Anchorage, as well as a hotel in Florida and a business park in Utah. The purchase of Keahótel would be his first major expansion outside of the US.
Read more: Construction of new hotels in Reykjavík continues apace: 50% more hotel rooms by 2020
Keahótel operates eight hotels, five in Reykjavík, two in Akureyri town in North Iceland and one by lake Mývatn in North Iceland. The Reykjavík hotels operated by Keahótel include Hótel Borg, one of Reykjavík's best known hotels, as well as Apótek Hotel, Reykjavík Lights, Skuggi Hotel and Storm Hotel.
Keahótel also operates three hotels in North Iceland: Hótel KEA in Akureyri, founded in 1944 one of the oldest hotels in North Iceland, a smaller hotel, Hótel Norðurland and a small hotel by Mývatn lake, Hotel Gígur
This is the second major investment by an Anchorage based firm in Iceland. Earlier this year Anchorage based PT Capital purchased half of the Icelandic telecom and mobile phone carrier Nova.
A real-estate company owned by the wealthiest man in Alaska, JL Properties, is finishing its acquisition of one of Iceland's largest hotel chains, the local newspaper Fréttablaðið reports. According to the sources of Fréttablaðið the Anchorage based commercial real estate developer JL Properties is paying 6 billion ISK (58 million USD/51 million EUR) for the hotel chain Keahótel, which operates eight large hotels in Reykjavík and North Iceland.
The current owners of Keahótel are an investment fund owned by state-owned Landsbankinn bank, with 60% stake, a local property developer with a 32% stake and the CEO of Keahótels who owns 8%.
Wealthiest man in Alaska
The CEO and chairman of JL Properties is Jonathan Rubini who is the wealthiest man in Alaska, according to Forbes. Along with his partner Leonard Hyde, Rubini controls some of the largest buildings in Anchorage, as well as a hotel in Florida and a business park in Utah. The purchase of Keahótel would be his first major expansion outside of the US.
Read more: Construction of new hotels in Reykjavík continues apace: 50% more hotel rooms by 2020
Keahótel operates eight hotels, five in Reykjavík, two in Akureyri town in North Iceland and one by lake Mývatn in North Iceland. The Reykjavík hotels operated by Keahótel include Hótel Borg, one of Reykjavík's best known hotels, as well as Apótek Hotel, Reykjavík Lights, Skuggi Hotel and Storm Hotel.
Keahótel also operates three hotels in North Iceland: Hótel KEA in Akureyri, founded in 1944 one of the oldest hotels in North Iceland, a smaller hotel, Hótel Norðurland and a small hotel by Mývatn lake, Hotel Gígur
This is the second major investment by an Anchorage based firm in Iceland. Earlier this year Anchorage based PT Capital purchased half of the Icelandic telecom and mobile phone carrier Nova.
