Investment entities affiliated with Starwood Capital Group that own interests in a portfolio of hotels comprised of the 1 Hotels properties in Manhattan and Brooklyn and the De Vere Portfolio in the United Kingdom, and Jaws Mustang Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company have signed a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) for a potential business combination. Under the terms of the LOI, following the consummation of the business dombination, the combined public company would be listed on a national securities exchange.
1 Hotels, created by Starwood Capital Group Chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht (Chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group) in 2015, is a mission-driven luxury lifestyle platform that places environmental sustainability at the forefront without sacrificing luxury or a premium guest experience. Each 1 Hotel is designed in collaboration with eco-friendly architects and craftsmen, and each property features a high-design with low-impact that leverages reclaimed and natural materials wherever possible. The 1 Hotels portfolio has grown rapidly since inception and now comprises 11 operating properties and another eight under development across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
“I wanted to capture the beauty of nature in a hotel and commit to safeguarding it as best I can, a responsibility that I believe we all share,” Sternlicht said. “It’s 1 world. But 1 is more than a hotel, it’s a philosophy and a platform for change.”
The De Vere Portfolio, previously acquired by investment affiliates of Starwood Capital Group, consists of a collection of country estates and ancestral family seats that have stood the test of time — each with a long tradition of welcoming and entertaining guests from Winston Churchill to King Edward VII. These historic country estates and houses have been enhanced to accommodate a 21st century lifestyle with modern event spaces. The De Vere experience offers the very best of attentive, personal service and thoughtful touches within atmospheric mansion house surroundings.
Under the terms of the LOI, the combined public company would become the direct or indirect owner of the Starwood Capital Entities’ interests in 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, 1 Hotel Central Park and, in the De Vere portfolio, De Vere Wokefield Estate, De Vere Latimer Estate, De Vere Beaumont Estate, De Vere Horsley Estate, De Vere Cranage Estate, De Vere Tortworth Court, De Vere Cotswold Water Park and De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms.
The 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge and the 1 Hotel Central Park will continue to be externally managed by SH Group Hotels & Residences U.S. LLC and the De Vere Portfolio will continue to be managed by its internal operational team. It is expected that on an ongoing basis, the combined public company will seek to acquire additional hotel properties, including 1 Hotels properties.
The Starwood Capital Entities and Jaws intend to finalize their definitive business combination agreement in the coming weeks and will announce additional details at that time.
