September 24 (SeeNews) - Italy's B&B Hotels has launched a 100 million euro ($117 million) project to expand in eastern Europe through investments in Slovenia, Croatia and Bulgaria, local media reported on Friday.
The hotel chain plans to invest about 14 million euro in two renovation projects in Slovenia as well as 9 million euro in a project in Croatia, Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore quoted B&B CEO Valerio Duchini as saying.
"The group is evaluating the opportunities offered by Bulgaria where we have some negotiations underway in the main destinations," Duchini said.
Goldman Sachs, the majority shareholder of B&B Hotels, has provided a 100 million euro funding for the planned expansion of the company in Eastern Europe where B&B intends to open hotels following the design and management of the ones it operates in Italy, the CEO said.
B&B Hotels is active in the budget and economy segment, and has about 500 hotels and more than 40,000 rooms in Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, Brazil, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia and Belgium.
($ = 0.85214 euro)