Pan-Asian budget hotel chain Red Planet Hotels has received $70 million from global investment bank Goldman Sachs.
Founded in 2010, Red Planet Hotels owns and operates a portfolio of 26 hotels in Japan, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia. In a statement, the company said that the funds from Goldman Sachs will "facilitate the activation of a confirmed pipeline for 10 hotels to open over the next 24 months."
Over the last five years, Red Planet Hotels has raised $240 million of capital, and the funds from Goldman Sachs position the company well to complete its next and final pre-IPO round of capital raising amounting to $250 million.
Red Planet Hotels CEO Tim Hansing said that the investment would solidify the company's current expansion roadmap, and help to establish a basis to close a final round of private investor equity to support further expansion of the brand.
"We have a well-diversified portfolio over four countries, and have developed a highly systemized brand," Hansing said. "We now have substantial growth opportunities not only in our existing markets but also in additional countries where we are confident our brand and product will excel.
"To have our company, our people, our product, and our brand be funded by Goldman Sachs indeed gives us the confidence that we are on the right track to our stated goal of a 2018 IPO."
"The investment we have received from Goldman Sachs will augment our expansion capabilities in the short-term and allow us to focus on our longer-term goals of scaling up our hotel footprint across the Asia-Pacific region," Simon Gerovich, chairman of Red Planet Hotels, added.
"The growth of travel, coupled with the evolving demands for more diverse and cost-efficient hospitality platforms, is leading to new opportunities for entrepreneurial companies in Asia," Jonathan Vanica, a managing director at Goldman Sachs, said. "We anticipate our capital will help Red Planet Hotels accelerate its expansion throughout the region."