A partnership led by TPG, one of the world's largest alternative asset management firms, has acquired the King and Prince resort and golf course in coastal Georgia, a popular destination for family vacations and corporate meetings and conferences.
TPG Real Estate and South Street Partners are buying the beachfront resort property in St. Simons Island, Georgia, for about $50.4 million, according to public records. The seller is MMI Hospitality Group. Assets included in the transaction are a 142-key hotel with beach access, an 18-hole golf course and 10,000 square feet of meeting space.
TPG Real Estate and South Street Partners plan to upgrade the resort property by renovating the hotel rooms and common areas, according to a news release. TPG has about $14 billion to spend on real estate investments through its two primary real estate entities, TPG Real Estate and TPG AG, the company said during a recent conference call.
The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort is “an irreplaceable resort that is positioned for continued growth through its beachfront location in a supply-constrained market,” said Tripp Johnson, partner at TPG Real Estate, in the release.
The asset sale also includes developable land and beachfront condominiums for purchase, according to the release. South Street Partners said its share of the acquisition was made through its SSP GP Fund I.
MMI Hotel Group, the management division of MMI Hospitality Group, will continue to operate the King and Prince, according to the release.
The portfolio of Ridgeland, Mississippi-based MMI, owned by the Sturdivant family, also includes Mission Golf Club and Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida, and Fontana Village Resort & Marina in Fontana Dam, North Carolina.
South Street Partners, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, owns several resorts in the Southeast, including Kiawah Island in South Carolina and Naples Grande Beach Resort in Naples, Florida.
Morgan Wynne and Franklin Horne opened the King and Prince in 1935 as a dance club. It was used as a training facility and Navy radar station during World War II.
For the Record
Breakwater Advisors was the financial adviser to MMI Hospitality Group for the deal. Catherine Morgen at Morris, Manning & Martin was legal counsel.