AccorHotels announces today it has begun exclusive negotiations for the acquisition of John Paul, the

leading player in premium customer and employee loyalty services. The company’s Enterprise Value

should be close to 150 million dollars i.e. a 2017e EV/EBITDA multiple of c. 11X. Accorhotels should

acquire about 80% of John Paul, the remaining stake being kept by David Amsellem, the founder of the

company, who will remain as CEO.

After Wipolo, Oasis Collections, SquareBreak and onefinestay, the acquisition of John Paul, world leader

in the customer loyalty and concierge markets marks a major new step in transforming AccorHotels into

a travel companion providing innovative services to travelers at every step of their journey.

Founded in Paris in 2007, John Paul merged with LesConcierges in 2015, creating the world leader in

loyalty services with a combined workforce of 1,000 highly skilled and trained people, across all five

continents. The team works as a partner to the world’s leading brands and a bespoke concierge available

around the clock, 7 days a week, anywhere in the world, to meet their customers’ request from the

simplest to the most complex.

The first technology enabled concierge, equipped with a proprietary Customer Relationship Management

(CRM) and data platform based on a behavioral profiling and a 360°personalization, as well as a network

of over 50,000 partners in more than 50 countries, the company offers the most exhaustive and global

loyalty solutions to prestigious brands in the financial, automotive, travel, consumer, healthcare,

pharma, luxury industries and more.

With a superior technology supporting its premium service culture, and sound profitability, John Paul

has become the acknowledged expert to assist its clients from designing their offer to implementing

their customized loyalty programs, which comprises a full service offer with content and cross-channel

marketing.

Sebastien Bazin, Chairman & CEO of AccorHotels explained: « The acquisition of John Paul enables us

to accelerate our global strategy to position the customer experience at the very heart of our

initiatives. Their expertise in customization combined with a wide range of services and cutting-edge

technology, gives us the opportunity to boost the value of the relationships with our guests and

partners and multiply the number of touch points. It means a further solidification of our customer

relation through an attractive offer and a higher usage, an increased personalization of our services

thanks to a deeper customer profiling with non-hotel driven information, and the strengthening of our

CRM with affinity data. Through this partnership with the world leader in the growing concierge

market, AccorHotels positions itself as the best provider of multi-nature services to guests, supporting

the whole customer journey, from non-hotel offers to 24/07 assistance through an integrated and

innovative solution, like a “Travel Companion” ».

David Amsellem, CEO of Paul John declared: “From inception, I founded John Paul deeply rooted with

a passion for service and hospitality. My vision is that we can enhance the lives of millions of guests

by delivering the highest personalized service.

Over the past few years, John Paul has made a huge growth across industries. Now that we are the

worldwide leader in premium loyalty solutions, we feel that we are at a tipping point in our venture

and we need the empowerment of a strong leader to support the current traction.

Entering the travel industry supported by AccorHotels means much more to the 1,000 people of the

John Paul Group: we feel that combining our strengths will create a game changer in the industry”.

Source: Accor press

Patrick GRIGNARD

Universal Press