Simpson Thacher is representing funds managed by Blackstone Real Estate Partners and Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and International Market Centers, Inc. (“IMC”) in IMC’s announced agreement to combine with AmericasMart. The combined entity will continue under the IMC name and will own and operate nearly 20 million square feet of permanent showroom space for furniture, home décor, rug, gift and apparel in Las Vegas, North Carolina and Georgia. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018.
IMC is the world's largest owner and operator of premier showroom space for the furniture, home decor and gift industries, with 12.2 million square feet of world-class exhibition space in High Point, North Carolina and Las Vegas, Nevada serving over 4,000 exhibitors and lines. AmericasMart houses the world’s single-largest collection of home decor, gift, area rug and apparel merchandise, with a complex comprising over 7.1 million square feet of space in downtown Atlanta. AmericasMart hosts 17 annual Markets and shows, including The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market and The Atlanta International Area Rug Market.
Simpson Thacher had previously represented funds managed by Blackstone Real Estate Partners and Blackstone Tactical Opportunities in their acquisition of IMC which closed in Q3 2017.
The Simpson Thacher team included Scott Kobak, Steve Stickler, Jake Vadeboncoeur and Davy Huang (Real Estate); Ben Schaye (M&A); Nancy Mehlman and C.J. Murray (Tax); Andrew Blau and Eric Wolf (Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits); Adeeb Fadil and Noreen Lavan (Environmental); Marcela Robledo and Larry Huang (Intellectual Property); and Kelly Karapetyan (Antitrust).