OTTAWA — The Fairmont Château Laurier, Ottawa’s landmark hotel, has been put up for sale by its Montreal-based owners as part of a strategy to dispose of multiple real estate assets in North America and Europe.

While the Château Laurier carries the Fairmont name, it is owned by Ivanhoé Cambridge, a real estate company that, according to its 2012 Activity Report, owns 36 hotels globally as well as numerous office buildings, residential buildings and shopping centres.

According to the report, Ivanhoé Cambridge has an estimated $30-billion worth of real estate assets. They also own 50 per cent of Ottawa’s Bayshore Shopping Centre.

Ivanhoé Cambridge is a subsidiary of the pension fund Caisse du dépôt et placement du Québec.

Sébastien Théberge, a spokesman for Ivanhoé Cambridge, could not comment on when the Château Laurier was listed and could not comment on why the company began a divestiture of its assets in the past year.

“In 2012, Ivanhoé Cambridge identified (the Château Laurier) as non-strategic and the disposition is taking place in an orderly manner,� he said.

Théberge said that more than 20 hotels have been sold in Canada and North America in the past year, and that since January, a Hilton in downtown Toronto and four hotels in Paris have been sold.

He also said the company expects to sell more hotels in its Europe portfolio.

Along with the Château Laurier, Ivanhoé Cambridge also listed the Fairmont Washington D.C. for sale.

While Théberge would not disclose how much either property is listed for, Real Estate Alert — a U.S. company that monitors major real estate transactions — suggests the Château Laurier has a value of $125 million and the Fairmont Washington D.C. has a value of $185 million.

And though a potential buyer has not been identified, it isn’t likely the name of the hotel will change.

A similar situation occurred in 2006 when Fairmont Hotels Resorts sold the Fairmont Kenauk at Le Château Montebello in Quebec. The hotel was sold to Oxford Properties, but continued to bear the Fairmont name and management.

The Montebello hotel was also recently put up for sale with a price tag of $81 million.

In many instances, Fairmont hotels are owned by third parties, but only managed by Fairmont Hotels Resorts,

Of the 20 Fairmont locations in Canada, six of them are owned by Ivanhoé Cambridge, including the Château Laurier.

The 429-room Ottawa hotel has been open since 1912 and was named after former prime minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier.

dfenton@ottawacitizen.com

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