Mallesons Stephen Jaques has acted for Singapore’s Ascendas Group and global hospitality giant Accor Group on the acquisition of a 49.2 percent stake worth $327 million in Australia’s Mirvac Wholesale Hotel Fund, an example of the growing global interest in Australian real estate.

Under the terms of the deal, Accor will have the management rights to Mirvac’s 43 hotels operating under brands ranging from the luxury Sea Temple resorts and Quay West Suites to Citigate. The France-headquartered company will also inject a total of $255 million into the purchase and increase the hotelier's network in Australia and New Zealand to 241 hotels, making it one of the largest in the mid-range and economy sectors. Accor currently runs about 160 hotels in Australia with brands including Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel, Mercure and Ibis.

Best known as an owner-developer and operator of industrial properties and industrial parks in Singapore and India, Ascendas, which will have the management rights for Mirvac, has recently expanded into hotels using Australia as its launch pad. Ascendas REIT, floated in 2002, is one of the oldest listed REITs in Singapore. It is also currently the largest industrial trust on the SGX with assets totaling S$5.4 billion.

The Mallesons team was led by partner John Sullivan, who was supported by senior associates Mark Bayliss and Scott Phillips. New Zealand’s Minter Ellison represented Mirvac in the transaction.

“This was a really interesting transaction involving multiple facets and complex regulatory overlay,” said Sullivan. “There was also extensive coordination with multiple parties in different jurisdictions, and a relatively tight transaction timetable.  We were delighted to be able to support Ascendas and Accor with the expansion of their high quality portfolios, and to lend our market-leading expertise in inbound investment into the Australian commercial real estate sector."

In the past year, Mallesons has been involved in a number of transactions related to inbound investment into Australian real estate by Asian and global real estate investors and managers. These have included advising RREEF on its acquisition of the iconic ASX Building in Sydney, advising global investor LaSalle Investment Management on a raft of acquisitions, advising Goldman Sachs on its participation in a consortium to acquire Redcape Property Fund, and advising on the acquisition of Sydney’s Gore Hill Data Centre, one of Australia’s first sharia-compliant fund investments. ALB

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