In Partnership with Hana Financial Investment
Lotte Hotel and Hana Financial Investment announced on Dec, 24 that they had signed a contract to acquire a hotel in downtown Seattle from American private equity fund Stockbridge.
The acquisition was made through joint investment between Lotte Hotel and Hana Financial Investment. The acquisition price was US$175 million (about 204 billion won), and Lotte Hotel plans to run Lotte Hotel Seattle starting June of next year after entrusting its operation to another company.
In particular, the contract is significant in that Lotte Hotel built a system to go global through asset investment which is less burdensome than a direct purchase as it is based on an entrusted hotel management contract system used by world-class hotels around the world.
Lotte Hotel Seattle is a luxury hotel located on Fifth Avenue in Seattle approximately 20 kilometers (15 minutes by car) from Tacoma International Airport. The 44-story hotel edifice has 189 rooms (including 31 suite rooms).
The hotel’s three-story church, which doubles as a meeting room and a banquet hall, is a historic building renovated from America's first chapel with a history of more than 100 years. With more than 4,000 pipe organ decorations and the oldest Beaux-Art style in the United States, the space is expected to meet the needs of global companies when they want to host various events.
In particular, the downtown area where Lotte Hotel Seattle is located is close not only to the headquarters of Forbes 500 companies such as Microsoft, Amazon and Starbucks, but to offices of world-class companies such as Apple, Disney and HP.
Meanwhile, by opening Lotte Hotel Seattle, Lotte Hotel will have three chained hotels in the United States (Lotte New York Palace, Lotte Hotel Seattle, Lotte Hotel Guam), and a total of 32 hotels around the world, including 12 hotels in overseas countries and 20 in Korea.