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HONG KONG: 17 October 2006 - Merger & Acquisition
Deal of the Year and the Reggie Shiu Development of the Year award winners
were announced at the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP),
which drew a record crowd of nearly 700 delegates to the InterContinental
Hong Kong 11-13 October 2006.
The BLUE Sydney, a Taj Hotel, was named the Merger & Acquisition Deal of the Year. The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), which owns and operates Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, acquired the 100-room W Sydney from the Harileela Group for AU$36 million. The property was re-launched as BLUE Sydney, A Taj Hotel in February 2006. Nominees in this category included Kingdom Hotels Investment's May 2006 acquisition of the 352-room Crowne Plaza Karon Beach resort, subsequently renamed Movenpick Resort & Spa Karon Beach, Phuket, from Lasalle Investment Management for US$98.5 million in May 2006 and Lippo Group's and Usaha Tegas's acquisition of control of Meritus Hotels and Resorts through their initial acquisition of a 55.04 percent stake in Overseas Union Enterprises Limited (OUE) from UOB and its affiliates. This stake was increased to over 96 percent in a subsequent general offering valuing OUE at USD$1.1billion. Wynn Resort, Macau was selected as the Reggie Shiu Development of the Year. Constructed at a cost of US$1.2 billion and financed through an international syndication of investment banks, the 600-room Wynn Resort has established a new standard that sets the tone for future casino resort development in Macau. Nominees in this category included Yau Lee Holdings's 269-room Express by Holiday Inn, Hong Kong; the Jin Mao Group's 501-room Hilton Resort & Spa, Sanya, featuring architecture design by Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo and interior design by CSL Hong Kong; and the 80-room InterContinental Thalasso-Spa, Bora Bora, featuring architectural design by Philippe Granou and interior design by Sylvain Proyart. Nominees in each category were chosen by a special committee comprised of senior level hotel industry leaders, and the winners were selected by a vote of the HICAP delegates. Hosted by Burba Hotel Network (BHN), Horwath Asia Pacific and Sonnenblick-Goldman Company, HICAP is the preeminent hotel investment conference in the Asia Pacific region. |
Contact:
Bob Hayes, BHN
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