GIC divests Hilton hotel property in Fukuoka, Japan  

SOVEREIGN wealth fund GIC has divested its hotel property in Fukuoka, Japan, it confirmed on Wednesday (Sep 11).

The property, the Hilton Fukuoka Sea Hawk hotel, was sold to Mizuho Leasing Company, which signed the purchase agreement in July. The deal closed in late August.

GIC declined to comment on the purchase price and selling price.

Bloomberg in January reported that the hotel had an asking price of 85 billion to 90 billion yen (S$778 million to S$824 million), as indicated by sources close to the matter.

In May, Mingtiandi cited sources as having said that Japan Hotel Real Estate Investment Trust was chosen as the preferred bidder to buy the hotel for 70 billion yen.

The property, described as “one of the representative hotels in Fukuoka City”, has 1,052 guest rooms, Mizuho Leasing said in a disclosure in July.

The hotel is a 20-minute drive from the city’s airport, and a 16-minute drive from the Tenjin area, a shopping, dining and entertainment district. It also sits next to Mizuho PayPay Dome, the home stadium of professional baseball team Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, so it is expected to attract tourism and business demand from dome users.

The hotel also has one of the largest banquet halls in Kyushu and a chapel, which can cater to a range of needs, from meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions to weddings.

The hotel is part of a complex of properties known as Hawks Town, which GIC acquired in April 2007. Hawks Town comprised the dome, a mall and the hotel. Sources had estimated its purchase price at around 100 billion yen.

In 2012, GIC sold the dome to Softbank for 87 billion yen.

In 2015, it sold the mall to Mitsubishi Estate for an undisclosed price.

GIC has worked to enhance the hotel asset since it was acquired in 2007, such as by renovating the rooms, and upgrading common areas such as restaurant outlets, banquet spaces and the retail zone, a spokesperson said.