UPDATE: Accor Replaces CEO Gilles Pelisson Following 'Divergence'
November 03 2010 - 3:59AM
Dow Jones News
The board of French hotels company Accor SA (AC.FR) Wednesday
said it is replacing its Chief Executive Gilles Pelisson, who
oversaw the company's split from its vouchers business, with Denis
Hennequin, Chief Executive of McDonald's Corp. (MCD) in Europe
following "strategic divergences" between the board and
Pelisson.
Over the past 5 years at the helm of Accor, the company behind
the Motel6 budget chain in the U.S., Sofitel luxury hotels and the
Novotel brand, Pelisson has restructured the company by selling off
non-core assets and hotel properties, replacing them with long-term
leases, and separating the highly cash-generative vouchers business
into a separately listed company, Edenred (EDEN.FR).
But at a board meeting Tuesday, the board and Pelisson
"recognized the strategic divergences between them, leading them to
organize the departure of Gilles Pelisson," the company said in a
statement. Pelisson was not immediately available to comment.
Accor's 11-member board includes four representatives of its key
shareholders, the U.S. private equity firm Colony Capital and
European investment company Eurazeo (RF.FR).
Under Hennequin's direction, Accor will move into "a new phase
in its development, during which the definition of priorities and
their execution will be key factors in its success," the board said
in its statement.
Hennequin will take up the new position on Jan 11.
Accor earlier this month increased its profit target for the
year after third quarter sales showed improved business in its more
expensive hotels in Europe. Along with other hotel groups that were
hit hard by the crisis, the company is starting to see an uptick in
business. Visibility remains low for the industry, however, as
clients wait until the last minute to make reservations, and
Accor's optimism for the end of the year thus far does not extend
into next year.
Accor last month withdrew plans to list its 49% stake in the
French casino operator Groupe Lucien Barriere because of a lack of
investor interest. The plans are part of the company's efforts to
reduce debt as it no longer has the vouchers division which was
traditionally used to fund hotel expansion.
Shares in the company have risen nearly 16% over the past three
months, outpacing a 3% rise in the Paris CAC-40-index on
expectations for a bounce-back in the sector. The hotels sector was
badly affected by the economic crisis as businesses cut back on
employee travel and the sector has lagged others in improving.
Accor shares closed at EUR26.69 Tuesday.
By Mimosa Spencer, Dow Jones Newswires; +33 1 40 17 1773;
mimosa.spencer@dowjones.com