Oaktree Capital Management has invested €300 million into Italian luxury hospitality firm Arsenale.
The funds are a mixture of equity and financing and will be used to support the growth of the business.
In December, Arsenale announced the creation of the new Orient Express “La Dolce Vita’” in collaboration with Accor, Trenitalia-Gruppo Ferrovie dello Stato and Fondazione FS, with the goal of launching a fleet of six luxury trains operating in Italy and Europe.
Oaktree’s investment will support the company in the development and launch of the project, which is set to begin operations in 2023.
The investment will also support the Company with the delivery of its current pipeline projects, which include the future Orient-Express Hotel de La Minerve in Rome and Palazzo Donà-Giovannelli in Venice.
Arsenale is a partnership between the Barletta Group and Annabel Holding, which remain the controlling shareholders.
Advisors
Financial: Rothschild & Co (Arsenale) and MedioBanca (Oaktree)
Legal and Tax: Linklaters (Arsenale)
Legal: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Oaktree)
Technical: JLL and HVS
Technical and Tax: PwC Italia (Oaktree) and Studio BK (Arsenale)
What they Said
Paolo Barletta, CEO of Arsenale, said: “The support of an international investor like Oaktree consolidates our position in the hospitality sector and provides us with the financial strength to compete with major international hospitality groups.”
Nicola Bulgari, Annabel Holding, said: "The launch of Orient Express ‘La Dolce Vita’ and the opening of our hotels will lead to the recruitment of more than 420 new professionals that we aim to hire, including recent graduates of our training schools. We believe that tourism will continue to represent a substantial driver of the Italian economy over the next few years, and it is essential that the sector continues to invest in developing talent at every level.”