A cross-border team from global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright acted as legal adviser to Savills on behalf of the Japanese Hotel chain, Prince Hotels, Inc. on the $50 million acquisition of the Staywell Hospitality Group portfolio. The acquisition, which includes the Park Regis and Leisure Inn brands, is one of the largest Australian hotel M&A deals of 2017.

The Staywell Hotel Group operates 18 hotels and has another 12 currently in development. Under the sale, Prince Hotels will establish a 100 per cent fully owned Australian subsidiary, which will acquire all of the shares of 22 companies operating under the Staywell Hospitality Group.

The acquisition is an important part of Seibu Holdings’ – owner of Prince Hotels – global growth plans for its international hotel and leisure business. Contracts have been exchanged with settlement to occur in October this year.

The Norton Rose Fulbright team spanned Australia, the UK, the UAE, Singapore, China, Thailand, and Indonesia, which reflected the diversity of the location of Staywell Hotel’s assets.

Norton Rose Fulbright partner Tom Young led the deal and commented:

'It is pleasing to advise on this significant transaction involving the acquisition of the Staywell Hotel Group by Prince Hotels Inc, which will ensure that its impressive portfolio of hotel and leisure businesses is left in safe hands. This deal reflects a trend towards global consolidation in the hotels industry and is one of the biggest hotel M&A deals seen in Australia. Reaching a satisfactory outcome for our client is a credit to the cross-border work of our teams throughout Australia, Asia, the Middle East and the UK.'

The due diligence was led by Tom Young’s team in Brisbane, consisting of Julie Brown (special counsel) and Daniel Popple (lawyer), working alongside other teams in Australia and international colleagues in London, Dubai, Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Jakarta.

Brisbane M&A partner Marshall Bromwich and his team played a key role in the transaction, dealing with the contract and negotiations. Georgina Hey, Sydney intellectual property partner, undertook the due diligence of the complex cross-border intellectual property rights involved in the transaction, while Martin Osborne, Brisbane partner and head of the firm’s employment and labour team in Australia, and Bronwyn Hammond, handled the employment contracts.