Hilton Enters Agreement in China for 400 Properties

Hilton Worldwide has signed an exclusive license agreement with Plateno Hotels Group to launch and develop the Hampton by Hilton brand in China. Hampton plans to have over 400 deals signed, with the first hotel expected to open by the end of 2015, according to a GlobeSt.com report. Hampton has designed a 3-star hotel prototype to fit top-tier cities in China, serving value-conscious, quality-driven business and leisure travelers. Hampton by Hilton's portfolio in China will be a mixture of new builds, conversions and adaptive reuse properties. Plateno Hotels Group will lead the development and management of the hotels.

"We expect that this partnership will allow us to accelerate our efforts to gain broad geographic and chain scale distribution in China, enabling us to access a large, growing customer base for both in country and outbound business," said Jim Holthouser, executive vice president, global brands, Hilton Worldwide. "Our five existing brands in China are growing at a rapid pace, and after extensively researching the market, we've seen an untapped opportunity to grow in the upper economy to mid-scale category. We're now seizing the opportunity to introduce the Hampton by Hilton brand at scale with an unprecedented partnership with Plateno Hotels Group."

"We're thrilled to partner with the global hospitality leader Hilton Worldwide to bring Hampton by Hilton to China," said Eric Wu, CFO of Plateno Hotels Group. "There is a substantial demand in China for a quality mid-scale lodging option, and we believe that Hampton is the right product to meet this need. Its enthusiastic and caring culture, together with its sought-after amenities such as free Wi-Fi, clean, comfortable beds and a 100% satisfaction guarantee, will be very appealing to Chinese travelers."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Lloyds Sells Australian Property Loans to Blackstone, Morgan Stanley JV

In a statement on Wednesday, Lloyds Banking Group announced that it was selling a portfolio of Australian corporate real estate loans to AET SPV Management, a joint venture sponsored by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing and Blackstone, for £388 million (or $252.4 million) in cash. The distressed property loans are reportedly valued at £809 million ($526.3 million). A Zacks Investment Research summary of the deal reports that the portfolio comprises nearly 60-70 commercial property loans in Queensland, Melbourne and Canberra.

The proceeds from the portfolio, which recorded losses of £183 million in 2011, will be used to pay down Lloyd's debt. The loans were acquired by Lloyds when it purchased HBOS in 2008, including the Bank of Scotland and its international unit, BOS International.

Dave Smith, Chief Executive of Lloyds International, said in a statement: "This transaction further de-risks the Australian business, and results in a cumulative 92% reduction of our real estate non-performing loan portfolio." British taxpayers hold a 40% stake in Lloyds.

According to a Bloomberg article, European banks are trying to sell real estate assets as they seek to meet stricter capital rules. Lloyds, which has cut more than 30,000 jobs since its 20 billion-pound taxpayer rescue in 2008, last month raised its asset-reduction plan for the year by 5 billion pounds to at least 30 billion pounds and expects to meet its 2014 target a year early.

With the acquisition, Blackstone will add to its already sizable real estate portfolio, which includes Hilton Worldwide, reported the New York Times. Last year, the firm acquired roughly 600 malls across the United States for $9.4 billion from the heavily indebted Australian company Centro Properties.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Parc 55 Wyndham Sold for $235M

New York-based Blackstone Group successfully acquired Parc 55 Wyndham from Rockpoint Group for $235 million, or $231,984 per room, in a distress sale according to a CoStar report. No brokers were named in the deal and terms were undisclosed.

A Bloomberg report earlier this month noted that Blackstone, which owns the Hilton Worldwide chain, would hold 75% of Parc 55, and Boston-based Rockpoint Group,would own most of the rest after investing $10 million of new equity. The article went on to note that Archon Group, a unit of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., provided $152 million of debt financing to the new owners, according to one of the people.

Parc 55 Wyndham Union Square Hotel is nestled in the heart of San Francisco featuring 1,015 spacious guest rooms and 15 suites and more than 30,000 square feet of event space, plus three on-site restaurants.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

ProLogis Sells $1.02B in Properties to Blackstone Group

ProLogis, a global provider of distribution facilities, has entered into an agreement to sell a North American industrial portfolio, its minority interest in a hotel property and interests in three of its property funds to Blackstone Real Estate Advisors for $1.02 billion according to a Reuters report. The portfolio covers 23 million square feet over 180 properties in North America, the sum of which is currently 95.6% leased with an average lease term of nearly thre years. The transaction is expected to bring ProLogis' year-to-date dispositions to more than $1.6 billion, exceeding its forecast for the year.

"We are pleased to announce this transaction and to have exceeded the top end of our expected range of dispositions," Walter C. Rakowich, ProLogis Chief Executive Officer said. "This transaction with Blackstone supports our strategy of redeploying our investment in non-strategic, direct owned North American assets into further de-leveraging and future development activity to enhance the geographic diversification and overall quality of our portfolio." The Hotel Property, which is being separately acquired by Blackstone affiliate Hilton Worldwide, Inc., includes ProLogis' approximately 25 percent minority interest in the Hilton New Orleans Riverside and an indirect interest in adjacent land and related affiliates.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.