(Yicai Global) Nov. 14 --  A consortium led by state-owned hotel group Jinjiang International and Luxembourg-based Chinese private equity fund called SINO-CEE Fund has bought a majority stake in Radisson Hospitality, which runs brands such as Radisson, Park Inn by Radisson, and Country Inn.

The consortium bought the shares from Radisson Hospitality and HNA Sweden Hospitality Management, a unit of China's HNA Tourism Group. A Swedish firm called Aplite Holdings that the alliance has formed carried out the acquisition of over 87 million shares for SEK35 (USD3.9) each, which would equal to USD339.3 million.

Rumors about the acquisition were up in the air since August when Bloomberg reported that Jinjiang International would offer USD2 billion to buy Radisson Hospitality.

With the deal, the number Jinjiang International's rooms in its mid and high-end categories grow about 20 percent. Some 30 percent of all its rooms will be abroad, which will improve its global competitiveness.

Shanghai-based Jinjiang International runs over 120,000 hotels that comprise 1 million rooms in over 120 countries. In 2015, the company bought Nanterre-based Groupe du Louvre, which manages Louvre Hotels.

Radisson Hospitality's US unit called Radisson Hotel Group operates 1,151 hotels and has 179,000 rooms, covering more than 114 countries in five continents.

Editor: Emmi Laine