Hospitality investment firm Sortis Holdings will acquire Ace Group International for $85 million in an all-cash deal, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Portland, Oregon-based Sortis has reached an agreement to buy the boutique Ace Hotels brand and its hotel management company, the newspaper reports. Ace currently has 10 hotels in operation, according to the brand's website — seven in the U.S. as well as one each in Toronto, Canada; Sydney, Australia; and Kyoto, Japan. Three of its properties — in Pittsburgh, Chicago and London — closed permanently during the pandemic.
The Ace Hotels brand started in 1999 with the Ace Hotel Seattle, growing in size over the years as it gained popularity among young professionals and travelers looking for different hotel experiences.
“The brand’s just done an incredible job over the years of building a very loyal customer base and really a strong community,” Sortis Executive Chairman Paul Brenneke told the newspaper. “It’s really carved out a unique niche.”
Sortis intends to grow the portfolio of hotels to 30 in part by expanding where Ace Hotels operate. Currently Ace Hotels are in mostly urban locations, such as Los Angeles, New York and Seattle, but Sortis plans to explore the resort space and luxury camping opportunities with the brand. The company will grow the Ace brand through both new development and acquisitions, a change from its previous strategy of growth through management contracts.
“There’s going to be a lot of turnover in the hotel world,” Brenneke said. “When turnover happens, it creates the opportunity for a new brand to come in.”