(Yicai Global) Jan. 30 -- Huazhu Hotels Group Ltd., formerly known as China Lodging Group Ltd., plans to deviate from its asset-light model by buying two hotels in the Chinese capital.

The Shanghai-based hotel group has set up a joint venture with world-leading private equity investor TPG Capital, Huazhu said yesterday. TPG will take an 80-percent stake in the new firm, which has already penned an equity agreement with Singapore's Ascendas Hospital Trust to the Novotel Beijing Sanyuan and Ibis Beijing Sanyuan for almost CNY1.2 billion (USD190 million).

"Light asset management remains the strategic focus of Huazhu," state-backed online news outlet The Paper cited Chief Executive Jenny Zhang as saying. "But at the same time, the group is willing to acquire commercial properties in partnership with asset-heavy investors to give full play to our operational capabilities and create more flagship locations and get better returns."

The pair expects to tie up the deal in the first half of this year after gaining regulatory approval. Huazhu plans to keep the Novotel hotel under the upscale Novotel brand, but transform the Ibis accommodation to fit its new marque, CitiGO. The firm also hopes to pick up other cheap assets where luxury hotel owners look to dispose of inefficient units.

Huazhu, which began as a budget brand, is now the world's ninth-largest hotel group. It operates more than 3,700 hotels in over 370 Chinese cities.