| March 6, 2006
Accor Sales 76 Hotel Properties to Fonciere des Murs
As part of its real estate management strategy, Accor has signed a memorandum
of understanding to sell hotel properties to Fonciere des Murs.
The transaction, with a market value of EUR 583 million, concerns 59
hotels and 5 Thalassotherapy institutes in France and 12 hotels in Belgium,
for a total of 8,300 rooms.
Accor will continue to manage the hotels under the Novotel, Mercure
and Ibis names. Rent will equal on average 14% of revenues for a period
of twelve years. The contract is renewable four times, for a total of 60
years.
As with the first transaction carried out in June 2005, this sale is
designed to reduce earnings volatility by making use of variable leases
based on a percentage of revenues with no minimum guaranteed.
With this development, Accor and Fonciere des Murs are building on a
year-old partnership in hotel real estate management that supports both
of their growth plans.
Also Accor Agrees to the Sale & Management Back of Six Sofitel
Hotels in the US
Paris, March 6, 2006. Accor announces the agreement to sell a portfolio
of six U.S. Sofitel hotels for $370 million to a joint venture comprised
of GEM Realty Capital, Whitehall Street Global Real Estate Limited Partnership
2005 and Accor. The six hotels, totaling 1,931 rooms, are located in the
major metropolitan markets of Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis,
San Francisco Bay and Washington D.C.
Accor will remain a 25% shareholder in the joint venture and will continue
to manage the hotels under the Sofitel brand name through a 25-year contract.
The transaction is in line with Accor's asset management strategy in the
upper upscale segment, which is to reduce capital intensity and earnings
volatility through sale and management back transactions.
This transaction enables Accor to partner with well-known hotel real
estate investors providing opportunities to expand under management contracts
the Sofitel network in North America.
"For our customers, vendors and employees, this partnership will be
a seamless transition that will allow us to significantly accelerate the
presence of Sofitel throughout North America," said Georges Le Mener, president
and CEO of Accor North America. "And we gain not just investors, but true
partners. Whitehall already has investments in many Accor hotels worldwide.
Working with GEM is a first for us, but we're excited by the dynamism and
creativity of the team, and their vision for the growth of our joint venture."
"We are excited about the opportunity to own such a high quality portfolio
of hotels in great American cities and partner with Accor, a premier international
hotel management company," said Barry Malkin, senior managing partner of
GEM Realty Capital.
Accor North America is a division of Paris-based Accor S.A. GEM Realty
Capital is a real estate investment company located in Chicago, Illinois.
Whitehall Street Global Real Estate Limited Partnership 2005, a real estate
investment fund, is sponsored and managed by Goldman Sachs. Morgan
Stanley acted as financial advisor to Accor in the transaction. Proskauer
Rose LLP acted as legal advisor to Accor in the transaction.
About Sofitel North America/Accor North America
Sofitel hotels in North America also include Chicago O'Hare, Houston,
New York, Philadelphia and Montreal, Canada. Accor North America is a division
of Paris-based Accor S.A.
About GEM Realty Capital, Inc.
Founded in 1994, GEM Realty Capital, Inc. is a Chicago-based real estate
investment company that invests in private-market and publicly traded real
estate through two lines of business, GEM Realty Properties and GEM Realty
Securities. GEM invests capital on behalf of itself and clients,
including pension funds, insurance companies, financial institutions, endowments,
foundations, and private clients.
About Whitehall Street Global Real Estate Limited Partnership 2005
Whitehall Street Global Real Estate Limited Partnership 2005 is the
most recent of the Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds, a family of opportunistic
real estate funds sponsored and managed by Goldman Sachs. The Whitehall
funds invest in real estate and real estate-related assets worldwide.
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