As part of the sale-and-franchise-back transaction, the 14 Ibis and 4 Formule 1 hotels will continue to operate under the same brands.

The transaction is being carried out in partnership with a joint venture composed of the private equity house Sveafastigheter and Event Holding, a hotel investor and operator in Germany and France. Based in Cologne, Event Holding is a long-time Accor partner that already operates Pullman, Mercure, all seasons and Ibis hotels through franchise agreements.

The 18 hotels to be sold include:

• Ibis Goteborg City, 120 rooms
• bis Stockholm Arlanda airport, 79 rooms
• Ibis Malmo, 255 rooms Ibis Sundsvall City, 143 rooms
• Ibis Jonkoping, 68 rooms

Accor will keep its international sales office for Scandinavia in Sweden and has announced the launch of a new phase of expansion across the region, based on franchise and management contracts, particularly in Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

The transaction confirms Accor's ability to actively manage its assets and deploy its asset-right strategy. It is part of the multi-year program to sell 2 billion euros adjusted net debt impact) in hotel property assets between 2010 and 2013, of which €600-650 million in 2010.