After the competition for the hotels was narrowed to just two parties last month -- Eureka, which was thought to be teaming up with InterContinental Hotels Group, and the Accor-Ascendas partnership -- sources said a deal with Accor was expected to be concluded by Christmas, with Accor in exclusive due diligence.

Eureka chairman and managing director Bob Kelly and an Accor spokesman declined to comment. Eureka manages $4 billionn worth of real estate investments, mostly for super funds and institutional investors.

November 11 was the deadline for bids on Mirvac's hotel operations. Among other groups that bid for Mirvac Hotels was Toga Group, which operates Travelodge hotels and Medina Apartments and had previously talked to Mirvac about a merger for the hotel portfolio.

Rydges Hotels & Resorts owner Amalgamated Holdings was another contender.

Included in the sale was the management rights for almost 6000 hotel rooms in 41 Australian hotels and three in New Zealand, a business estimated to be worth $100m-$150m.

Mirvac's hotel package includes its 49 per cent stake in the Mirvac Wholesale Hotel Trust, which owns seven four- to five-star properties in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. The group will also offload the Sebel hotels in Newcastle, and Mandurah in Western Australia, which are held on its balance sheet. But it will retain The Como Hotel in Melbourne as a redevelopment site.

Accor runs about 160 hotels in Australia with brands includes Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel, Mercure and ibis.

It is also a 20 per cent shareholder in hotel owner Tourism Asset Holdings Limited and runs most of its assets.