Motel 6 will be leaving the light on for a new owner.
Private equity firm Blackstone Group said Tuesday it has agreed to buy the discount motel chain from French hotel operator Accor, which is being represented by Proskauer Rose, for $1.9 billion.
In the deal, Blackstone, represented by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, will gain more than 1,100 budget lodgings in the Unites States and Canada. The chain also operates a small number of extended-stay locations under the Studio 6 brand. The transaction is expected to close in October.
Accor, which also operates Sofitel and other luxury hotels, would exit the U.S. budget lodging business with the sale and sharpen its focus on expanding in emerging markets throughout Asia, Latin America, and Europe. In 2007 the company tapped Proskauer for the sale of the Red Roof Inn chain for $1.31 billion to a consortium led by Citigroup and Westbridge Hospitality Fund.
New York corporate partner Jeffrey Horwitz is leading Proskauer’s team for Accor. He is joined on the deal by M&A partner Daniel Ganitsky, tax partner Stuart Rosow, compensation and benefits partner Ira Bogner, intellectual property partner Daryn Grossman, antitrust partner Helene Jaffe, and finance partner Andrew Bettwy. Horwitz also led on the 2007 sale of Red Roof Inn.
The Simpson Thacher team advising Blackstone is being led by New Yorkbased real estate partner Gregory Ressa. The firm has previously worked on other transactions for Blackstone, whose chief legal officer, John Finley, is a former Simpson Thacher partner. Last month, for instance, Blackstone turned to the firm for its $88.4 million sale of the Wyndham Chicago hotel to an affiliate of Sunstone Hotel Investors.
