Starwood Capital Group, a leading global private investment firm, and leading Spanish hotel operator Melia Hotels International announced that they have established a joint venture that has agreed to acquire a collection of hotels across key resort locations in Spain.
The initial portfolio for the joint venture consists of seven well-established beachfront hotels representing 2,933 keys that are currently owned by Melia Hotels International and will continue to be managed by Melia upon completion of the transaction.
The properties will be acquired by the joint venture in a transaction valued at €176 million ($198 million), subject to the approval of the European Union Merger Control Office.
Included in the initial portfolio are the Sol Principe in Malaga, the Sol Lanzarote and Melia Gorriones (Fuerteventura) in the Canary Islands, the Sol Ibiza and Sol Pinet Playa in Ibiza, and the Sol Mirlos and Sol Tordos (Palmanova, Mallorca).
A controlled affiliate of Starwood Capital will own 80 per cent of the joint venture company, while Melia Hotels International will own the remaining 20 per cent. The joint venture plans to seek out opportunities to integrate additional properties into the portfolio.
The joint venture represents Starwood Capital Group’s second transaction in Spain over the last several months. In late October, the firm completed the acquisition, through a controlled affiliate, of a portfolio of loans from BFA-Bankia Group that included a significant number of real estate properties as underlying collateral.
