Far East Consortium has agreed to sell a 49.9% stake in The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne for AU$58.2m, crystallising value from its Australian hotel portfolio.
Under a sale and purchase agreement signed on 1 April 2026, subsidiaries FEC Hotel and FEC DCG will dispose of 49.9% of the issued shares in the hotel’s operating and property holding companies, alongside the assignment of 49.9% of shareholder loans. The transaction is based on an agreed hotel valuation of AU$233.20m, slightly above the independently assessed market value of AU$233m.
After deducting estimated outstanding bank loans of AU$116.6m, the consideration reflects 49.9% of the adjusted equity value. The group expects to record a gain of approximately AU$18.3m upon completion.
The purchaser, Ace Goal Investments, is indirectly owned by Executive Director Ms Jennifer Wendy Chiu (55%) and Chairman and Chief Executive Tan Sri Dato’ David Chiu (45%), making the deal a connected transaction under Chapter 14A of the Listing Rules. As the applicable percentage ratios are below 5%, the transaction is subject to reporting and announcement requirements but exempt from independent shareholders’ approval.
Completion remains conditional upon regulatory approvals in Hong Kong and Australia, third-party consents, and completion of an internal restructuring. Following completion, the target entities will cease to be subsidiaries and will instead be accounted for as joint ventures.
The directors said the disposal aligns with the group’s strategy of unlocking development profits from its hotel portfolio, recycling capital and reducing net gearing.
The consideration may be adjusted depending on the target group’s net asset value at completion, with upward or downward revisions applied on a 49.9% basis
