Real estate investment trust Star Asia Group announced Friday that it had on April 26 acquired 100% of the shares of Tokyo-based hotel- and restaurant-operating and hotel consultancy firm Minacia Co. The deal includes ownership of 39 hotels, 5,180 rooms and limited-service hotel brands Wing International and Tenza Hotels.
Star Asia, which is headquartered in Tokyo and has a satellite office in New Jersey, acquired the shares from a third party. No transaction price is disclosed.
Minacia’s hotels are all in Japan. The Tenza brand launched in 2020.
Minacia reported 2022 revenue of 9.8 billion Japanese yen ($63 million). The Star Asia acquisition news release release stated Minacia has almost 1,000 employees.
Star Asia, founded in 2006 by Malcolm F. MacLean IV and Taro Masuyama, has invested more than 1.27 trillion yen as of the end of 2023 “in real estate-related opportunities, including properties, loans, securitized assets and companies,” the release added.
In 2018, the company acquired a majority stake in Polaris Holdings, a hotel operator listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Polaris owns 50 hotels and 8,958 rooms in Japan and operates under the brands Koko Hotel, Red Planet and Value the Hotel, along with some Best Western franchises. Both Polaris and Minacia are among the 30 largest hotel operators in Japan by room count, according to Star Asia.
The acquisition is in line with Star Asia's plans to invest in hotel businesses with growth potential.
The Wing and Tenza brands "enjoy a high degree of recognition throughout Japan. Minacia has a robust proprietary loyalty program with a large number of repeat guests," according to the news release. "Minacia also has extensive experience in the restaurant business and is developing restaurant concepts inside and outside of its hotels, taking advantage of specialized regional characteristics.”
The deal is expected to close on May 31.