A French hotel giant has taken over the parent firm of Fairmont hotels, which owns The Fairmont Southampton and manages Hamilton Princess, Bermuda.

AccorHotels has acquired Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI), giving it a total of 155 hotels and resorts worldwide, including the famous Raffles Hotel in Singapore, London’s Savoy and The Plaza in New York.

The French company will pay for the deal by issuing 46.7 million new AccorHotels shares and by making a cash payment of $840 million.

As part of the deal, existing Fairmont group owners the Qatar Investment Authority and Kingdom Holding Company of Saudi Arabia will become major shareholders, with 10.5 per cent and 5.8 per cent of the share capital respectively. The buy-up will give AccorHotels control of the Fairmont brand — and its large US and Canadian collection of hotels — as well as the Raffles chain and Swissôtel.

Sébastien Bazin, the chairman and chief executive officer of AccorHotels, said: “This is an outstanding opportunity to add three prestigious brands to our portfolio and a great step forward for AccorHotels.

“It offers us robust and global leadership in luxury hotels, a key segment in terms of geographic reach, growth potential and profitability, for long-term value creation.

“In addition, the deal allows us to strengthen our human capital with FRHI’s widely respected and talented global workforce, which has a proven track record in operating and marketing luxury hotels.

“The transaction will also enable the group to consolidate its shareholder base with the arrival of two high-profile investors that both have extensive experience in the hospitality industry.

“This major acquisition demonstrates the group’s agility in a fast-changing industry and will allow us to more effectively support our guests, clients and hotel owners.

“Through it, we are positioning ourselves as a key player in the current industry consolidation process while maintaining substantial leeway to implement our transformation plan.”

Qatar Investment Authority’s chief executive, Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Saud al-Thani, added: “Since making our investment, Fairmont Raffles Hotels International has become a leading luxury hotel company with an expanded international presence.

“This deal generates the scale needed to drive the next phase of growth in our real estate and hospitality investments. Qatar Investment Authority has confidence in AccorHotels and looks forward to becoming a significant shareholder.”

The move means that AccorHotels will have a portfolio of almost 500 luxury and upmarket properties, and will make it a key global player at the top end of the hotel industry.

The firm said that the combination of brands, increased marketing efficiency and sales and distribution channels, as well as optimisation of support costs, would also generate about $71 million in revenue and cost savings.

The agreement is subject to approval by regulators and also to a shareholder vote on the share issue.

The wealthy Green family from Bermuda, who took over the Hamilton Princess in 2012 and have invested about $100 million in upgrades, declined yesterday to comment on the AccorHotels takeover.