Brazil Hospitality Group (BHG) has signed an agreement to purchase 100% of the shares representing the capital stock of LM Empreendimentos e Participações, following which it will assume the ownership of a hotel in Rio de Janeiro.

With this acquisition, BHG will own the Marina Palace located in the city of Rio de Janeiro and will likely take over the hotel management in January 2014.

The hotels ‘Marina All Suites’ and ‘Villa Rasa Marina’ and the management of the restaurants Bar d’Hotel and Bar do Lado are, however, not part of the acquisition agreement.

The Marina Palace Hotel, which has 150 rooms located in front of Leblon beach, is considered to be an icon of the national hotel segment.

The hotel has an oceanic view and provides amenities including two international-standard restaurants and a complete congress and conference structure which can accommodate up to 560 people at the same time.

"This is one of the company’s most important acquisitions, giving us a strategic position in Rio de Janeiro, with the capability of serving both leisure and business travellers, and expanding our capacity in relation to major international events, such as the World Cup and the Olympic Games."

BHG intends to renovate and expand the hotel with an investment of R$15m, which will further strengthen the company’s presence in Brazil’s hotel market.

It currently has five hotels in Rio de Janeiro, all located in prestigious ocean-front areas, with approximately 1,300 rooms.

BHG CEO Eduardo Bartolomeo said: "This is one of the company’s most important acquisitions, giving us a strategic position in Rio de Janeiro, with the capability of serving both leisure and business travellers, and expanding our capacity in relation to major international events, such as the World Cup and the Olympic Games."

BHG, Brazil’s third largest hotel chain, has 49 hotels in its portfolio, in addition to 22 projects under development in Brazil’s main regions.

It has previously signed an exclusive contract with the Golden Tulip Hospitality Group in South America which enables it to use the Royal Tulip (5-star), Golden Tulip (4-star) and Tulip Inn (3-star) brands.

Taking into consideration all the projects currently under development, BHG hopes to reach a total of approximately 13,329 rooms under management by the end of 2016, distributed through 71 hotels.