South Korea-based Lotte Group has entered into contract to acquire Northwood Investors’ New York Palace Hotel at 455 Madison Avenue for $805 million.
The Lotte Group will acquire and operate the Midtown hotel, located between East 50th and East 51st streets in Midtown, through its Hotel Lotte unit. The company “has been actively entering markets abroad” and “continuously been looking for fitting [merger and acquisition] opportunities,” a spokeswoman said.
The takeover is expected to be complete by late August, according to Reuters. The Lotte Group has opened and acquired hotels in Russia, Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Guam, and is in the process of building hotels in China and Myanmar.
Northwood bought the 55-story hotel from the Brunei Investment Agency for $400 million in 2011 and spent $100 million on renovating the property. [Reuters] – Rey Mashayekhi