International hotel company Westmont Hospitality to buy Château Montebello

International hotel company Westmont Hospitality to buy Château Montebello

Owner was forced to liquidate assets in 2024, starting bidding process

Westmont Hospitality won the bidding process and is poised to own the historic Fairmont Le Château Montebello hotel, according to court documents.

The hotel's owner, China Evergrande Group, was told by a judge early in 2024 that with $300 billion US in liabilities and no plan to refinance, it was time for the company to liquidate its assets.

The Superior Court of Quebec turned the sale over to accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) last November.

PwC filed for court approval of the sale on Friday.

Westmont beat out competition including a group with Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer, Spa Nordik founder Martin Paquette and major Ottawa-Gatineau developer Devcore.

The company owns and operates hundreds of hotels around the world.

With files from Radio- Canada's Benjamin Vachet and Olivier Daoust