The Firm is representing an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII in connection with its proposed acquisition of Accor’s United States Economy Hotels Division for $1.9 billion. The division, which includes Motel 6 and Studio 6, an extended-stay economy chain, currently has more than 1,100 locations with more than 105,000 rooms in the United States and Canada and is the largest owned and operated hotel chain in North America. Accor is a leading hotel operator based in France with a presence in 92 countries. The transaction is expected to close in October 2012, subject to Accor’s unwinding of leases and customary closing conditions.
The Simpson Thacher team includes Gregory Ressa, Bryan Herzbach, Whitney Roland, Nitya Kumar and Kevin Boroumand (Real Estate); Anthony King, Chi Pan, Andrew Nightingale, Ken Myung Shin, Bennett Surajat and Charles Clinton (M&A); John Hart and Sean Austin (Tax); Gregory Grogan and Jeannine McSweeney (Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits); Lori Lesser and Marcela Robledo (Intellectual Property); Joe Tringali, Michael Naughton, Jennifer Rie and Ellen Frye (Antitrust); and Adeeb Fadil (Environmental). Summer associate Jason Mohr also provided valuable assistance.