London, Paris, Lausanne, June 12, 2009 – Golden Tulip Hospitality BV, in consultation with the Trustees, and an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group Global (which itself controls, through an affiliate, Louvre Hotels SAS) have agreed terms for an affiliate to acquire the Company?s Franchise business, its Development & Representation businesses, Joint Venture interests, and the brands, trademarks and intellectual property of Golden Tulip, Tulip Inn and its related brands.
Subject to confirmatory due diligence the transaction is expected to complete by June 26th 2009.
It is the intention of Starwood Capital Group to grow the Golden Tulip brands in existing and emerging markets, leveraging off the Louvre Hotels distribution platform through a strategic alliance between Louvre Hotels and the Golden Tulip businesses.
Rich Gomel, Managing Director at Starwood Capital Group, comments: ?The clear appeal of Golden Tulip Hotels is its strong brand and far reaching franchise network.? The group is highly complementary to Louvre Hotels (Premiere Classe, Campanile, Kyriad and Kyriad Prestige); both geographically and on a segment level.? It will enable us, through a strategic alliance, to offer existing and new customers a full range in accommodation and service levels across over 40 countries, with over 1,000 hotels, comprising some 82,000 rooms.
Following completion, the group will be able to compete more effectively for corporate accounts thanks to a larger share of the Global Distribution System and distribution channels.? Furthermore, our franchisees will see significant benefit from the scale of our combined portfolios.? As with Louvre Hotels, Starwood Capital is absolutely committed to nurturing and growing the Golden Tulip brands.?
Hans Kennedie, Managing Director of Golden Tulip, adds: “The combination of Golden Tulip with Louvre Hotels will indeed create a new global hospitality force, based on European fundamentals. The combined group will create substantial synergies and benefits both to our customers as well as to our hotels.?
The alliance of Golden Tulip and Louvre Hotels will have offices worldwide in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, South and North America.
About Starwood Capital Group:
Starwood Capital Group Global, L.P. is a privately-held global real estate investment firm based in Greenwich, CT (with its predecessor Starwood affiliates ?Starwood? or ?Starwood Capital Group?).? Founded in 1991, Starwood specializes in the creation and acquisition of real estate-related investments on behalf of commingled investment vehicles that are sponsored and created by Starwood or its affiliated entities.
About Louvre Hotels
Louvre Hotels is a key player in the hotel and restaurant industry in Europe. It has more than 800 hotels and a total capacity of almost 53,000 rooms in nine European countries.