We acted for both Blackstone Group and Starwood Capital Group in their acquisition of joint control in Extended Stay America, Inc. (“ESA”) and its paired-share REIT, ESH Hospitality, Inc.
Extended Stay America is the largest owner and operator of extended stay hotels in the USA. We prepared and filed the merger control notification in Finland, obtaining a swift, unconditional Phase I clearance of the FCCA on 16 April 2021. The case was the first-ever short-form notification to the FCCA although the rules on short-form have been in place since 2011.
Blackstone is a leading global investment business investing capital on behalf of pension funds, large institutions and individuals. Its real estate business was founded in 1991 and has USD 174 billion of investor capital under management. Blackstone is one of the largest property owners in the world, owning and operating assets across every major geography and sector, including logistics, multifamily and single family housing, office, hospitality and retail.
Starwood Capital Group is a private investment firm with a primary focus on global real estate. Since its inception in 1991, it has raised over USD 55 billion of equity capital and currently has approximately USD 80 billion of assets under management. Today, Starwood Capital and its affiliates operate 16 offices worldwide with approximately 4,000 employees.
Extended Stay America, Inc. is the largest integrated hotel owner/operator in North America. Its subsidiary, ESH Hospitality, Inc., is the largest lodging REIT in North America by unit and room count. ESA manages all of ESH’s hotel properties and also franchises additional Extended Stay America hotels, with 652 hotels and providing over 7,500 jobs at Extended Stay America’s hotels and corporate headquarters. Extended Stay America is the leading brand in the mid-priced extended stay segment, with approximately twice as many rooms as its nearest competitor.