The organizers of the Hotel Investment Conference
Europe (Hot.E) 2019, announced the winners of the Hot.E Deal of the Year Awards
in the categories of Merger & Acquisition/Portfolio of the Year and
Transaction of the Year. The awards were presented at Hot.E on 24 September
2019, at the Hilton London Bankside.
The Westin Paris in Vendôme, Paris, France
was named Transaction of the Year. The Westin Paris -
Vendôme is an iconic asset representing an entire block in Paris’ 1st
arrondissement, one of the City’s most prestigious locations, opposite the
Louvre Museum. The 4-star Westin, one of Paris’ largest hotels, comprises
428-guestrooms, extensive meeting space, a fitness centre, a spa, and multiple
retail units. Henderson Park acquired the asset in October 2018 from GIC,
having identified the unique opportunity to achieve vacant possession of a
landmark property and undertake a repositioning programme to unlock its full
potential. This acquisition marked one of the largest single asset European
hotel transactions in recent history. Finalists in this category also included the Beaumont in London, UK, and Villa Magna in
Madrid, Spain.
NH Hotel Group acquisition by Minor
International was named Merger & Acquisition/Portfolio of the Year. In October 2018,
Minor International PCL (MINT), a company with no size advantage, won NH Hotel
Group, S.A. (NH Hotels) in a takeover battle against big players at an
EV/EBITDA multiple significantly lower than comparable transactions, without
paying a control premium. The success derived from MINT’s ability to leverage
its versatile and agile organization to fuel a tactical plan that effectively
dominated and guided the outcome. MINT deployed a wealth of M&A tools
during the transaction, including undisclosed retail-lot accumulation,
strategic block trade (hedge fund stake), conditional purchase agreements
(Chinese group), active offensive/defensive campaigns through tender
announcement, forward purchase public announcement and target engagement.
Finalists in this category also included Grange
Hotel Portfolio Sale to Queensgate Investments, and K+K Portfolio Sale to
Interglobe.
The Hot.E Deal of the Year Awards were established to recognize the
companies responsible for some of the most influential hospitality industry
investments occurring in the European marketplace over the course of the past
year. Carine Bonnejean of Christie & Co chaired the Merger & Acquisition/Portfolio
of the Year Award committee, and Jules J.C.M. van Gaalen of Colliers
International chaired the Transaction of the Year Award committee. The two
committees are comprised of hotel industry leaders who selected, reviewed, and
nominated deals. The finalist information was then sent to the Hot.E delegates
for voting.
For more information about Hot.E Deal of the Year Awards, visit the Hot.E website.