Taylor Wessing has advised Warimpex Finanz- und Beteiligungs Aktiengesellschaft on the partial sale of its hotel portfolio to the Thai investor U City Public Company Limited. CHSH and Hogan Lovells advised U City on the transaction, which included participations in eight hotels in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Romania, two of which are partly (50%) owned by UBM Development AG.
Taylor Wessing also advised Amber Privatstiftung and Bocca Privatstiftung, the two majority shareholders of Warimpex, with regard to an agreement to sell all their shares in Vienna International Hotelmanagement Aktiengesellschaft ("Vienna House") — the hotel management company which manages all of the eight hotel participations sold in the deal — to U City.
U City will take over twenty four of the 3 to 5 star ranked Andel's, Angelo, and Vienna House-branded hotels in Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, and Romania. Either hotels were acquired from the listed Warimpex Finanz- und Beteiligungs AG. The remaining hotels were taken over by U City indirectly through the acquisition of Vienna International Hotel Management AG from the two private foundations.
According to CHSH, "U City Public Company Limited was incorporated in 1988 to operate in the business of full-scale real estate development for rent, service, sale, and administration. The company was listed in the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 1993. U City's strategy is to acquire or develop recurring income properties near mass transit lines both locally and overseas."
The closing of both transactions is still pending, subject to the fulfillment of the standard closing conditions for such real estate transactions. It is expected to occur by summer 2017.
The Taylor Wessing Vienna team advising Warimpex was led by Partners Raimund Cancola and Philip Hoflehner and included Senior Associate Allan Hahn and Associate Catherine Hofmann-Jabari. In addition, Partners Martin Eckel, Michaela Petritz-Klar, and Martin Prohaska, as well as Associates David Konrath and Sabine-Katharina Andreasch were part of the team.
Partners Erwin Hanslik and Thomas Rechberger from Taylor Wessing Prague and Partners Olav Nemling and Sylwester Zydowicz from Taylor Wessing Warsaw were also involved.
The Vienna-based CHSH team advising U City was led by Partner Clemens Hasenauer and included Partners Harald Stingl, Johannes Prinz, and Mark Krenn, Attorneys Lorenz Pracht and Christopher Peitsch, Christoph Reiter, and Stephanie Maier-Herbeck, and Associates Julia Berent, Ferdinand Guggenmos, and Thomas Knirsch.
CHSH offices in Prague (Senior Associate Jan Moravek and Associate Jiri Prouza), Bratislava (Partner Jozef Bannert and Senior Associate Marek Hraska), and Bucharest (Partners Mirela Nathanzon and Zizi Popa, and Senior Associates Raul Andriuc, Ana Maria Dumitrache, and Anda Nicoara) also assisted on the deal.
The enormous Hogan Lovells team consisted of, in Munich, Partners Nikolas Zirngibl, Martin Gunther, Christoph Wunschmann, and Christian Herweg, Counsel Christian Zerr, Falk Loose, and Martin Pfluger, Senior Associates Christian Ritz and Sabrina Handke, and Associates Katharina Furtjes, Matthias Garhammer, Thomas Bohm, Julia Obletter, Friederike Heesemann, and Isabella Kling; in Frankfurt, Partners Marc Werner and Kerstin Neighbour and Associates Verena Kilb and Sarah Islinger, in Brussels Partner Falk Schoning; in Warsaw Partner Marek Wroniak and Associates Michal Bialobrzeski, Aleksandra Sudak, and Weronika Wolosiuk; in Moscow, Partner Oxana Balayan, Senior Associate Svetlana Sorkina, and Associate Olga Khachikyan.
Image Source: viennahouse.com
