Jardine Matheson to Take Mandarin Oriental Private in $4.2 Billion Buyout
The $4.2 billion buyout will see the storied Hong Kong hotel group delisted as owner Jardine Matheson moves to accelerate the brand’s global expansion.
Photo: Courtesy of Mandarin Oriental
Jardine Matheson will take full ownership of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, acquiring the remaining 11.96% of shares it doesn’t already hold in a deal that values the brand at $4.2 billion, Reuters reported on Friday. The Hong Kong-based conglomerate, which first invested in Mandarin Oriental decades ago, said the move will allow it to “better support the hotel group’s growth and streamline its portfolio.”
The buyout follows a period of measured transformation for the 62-year-old luxury brand. Under CEO Laurent Kleitman, who joined in late 2023 from Dior and Coty, Mandarin Oriental has been executing an ambitious plan to double its footprint to between 80 and 100 properties over the next decade. The group currently manages 43 hotels and 12 branded residences across 27 countries, with openings ahead in Vienna, Rome, Seoul, and Dubai’s Jumeirah Golf Estates.
The $3.35-per-share offer—comprising $2.75 in cash and a $0.60 special dividend—comes at a 52% premium to Mandarin Oriental’s last unaffected share price. That dividend will be funded by the $925 million sale of the top 13 floors of its One Causeway Bay tower in Hong Kong to Alibaba Group and Ant Group, part of the company’s ongoing shift to an asset-light model. The sale is expected to close by year’s end, with the buyout completing by February 2026. Once finalized, Mandarin Oriental will be delisted from the Singapore stock exchange.
For Jardine Matheson, one of Hong Kong’s oldest trading houses, full ownership shows the company’s confidence in the long-term value of the Mandarin Oriental brand. The group reported a 45% increase in underlying net profit in the first half of 2025, citing hotel performance and portfolio optimization among its key growth drivers.
The privatization gives MO the latitude to move faster—free from the constraints of public-market reporting—as it continues a brand refresh, expands its residential portfolio, and targets new partnerships in wellness and technology.
