Banking On Demand From Younger Travelers, Hospitality Brand Selina To Go Public Via SPAC
Selina, a London-based hotel and coworking company targeted at millennial and Gen Z travelers, has announced plans to go public via a SPAC.
Publicly traded blank check firm BOA Acquisition Corp. has agreed to purchase Selina in a deal that values the combined firm at $1.2B. The transaction is slated to close in the first half of 2022, at which point Selina will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SLNA.
Selina manages 35,000 beds across 134 properties in North and South America, Europe and the Middle East, and operates them as community hubs with flexible work and stay offerings designed for younger travelers that Selina estimates spend $350B per year on travel. The company opened its first U.S. location in Miami in 2018, and it counts other national locations in Oregon, Chicago, New Orleans, New York City and Washington, D.C.
Backers of the company include WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann, U.S. multinational industrial group Access Industries and Dubai investment firm Abraaj Group. Selina said it has secured $350M from partners to expand in 12 markets and it intends to add 40,000 beds by 2025. Selina’s business model includes partnering with real estate owners who front the majority of costs to renovate properties into Selina-branded hubs.
“Selina is cornering a large addressable market by providing accommodations and experiences that aren’t readily replicated,” BOA CEO Brian Friedman said in a statement. “We anticipate Selina will continue to build on its significant growth in the coming years as the ability to work from anywhere propels travelers to experience the world in a way their elders never could — as digital nomads.”
Selina, which was founded in 2015 by Rafael Museri and Daniel Rudasevski, said it expects to be profitable by the first quarter of 2023 and generate approximately $1.2B in revenue by 2025, “driven by new openings, operational improvements and the maturation of its portfolio.”
