Star Asia Group to Acquire 100% of Minacia Co. Ltd, a Leading Domestic Hotel Operator

TOKYO, May 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Star Asia Group is pleased to announce that it has entered into a share transfer agreement with Minacia Co., Ltd. ("Minacia") on April 26, 2024, to acquire 100% of the shares of Minacia.

1． Reason for Share Acquisition

Star Asia Group believes that the Japanese hospitality sector is one of the few sectors in Japan with significant growth potential and has been actively and strategically investing in the hospitality sector since before the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2018, Star Asia Group purchased a majority equity stake in Polaris Holdings ("Polaris"), a hotel operator listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Standard Market (TSE: 3010) and has since been Polaris' main sponsor. When the operating performance and liquidity of hotel assets significantly deteriorated during the COVID-19 pandemic, Star Asia Group took advantage of the opportunity to proactively invest in well located and well positioned hotel assets totaling more than JPY100 billion. Meanwhile, Star Asia Group has continued to accumulate expertise in the hospitality business internally within the group, while supporting Polaris' growth by providing extensive human and financial resource support, including outsourcing management of assets acquired by Star Asia Group as well as providing opportunities for co-investment.

Star Asia Group has decided to acquire from a third party 100% of the shares of Minacia which operates 39 limited-service hotels totaling 5,180 rooms in major Japanese cities nationwide. This acquisition is in line with our strategic initiative to actively invest in the hotel sector where there is significant growth potential. Over its 30+ year history, Minacia has been a hotel and restaurant management company that operates limited-service hotels throughout Japan under brands such as Wing International and Tenza Hotel, which was newly launched in 2020. These brands enjoy a high degree of recognition throughout Japan. Minacia has a robust proprietary loyalty program with a large number of repeat guests. 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.

Polaris currently operates 50 hotels totaling 8,958 rooms in Japan and overseas, and there are many similarities and compatibilities between Polaris' limited-service hotel management business and Minacia's operations. By providing strong sponsorship and considerable management resources, including additional capital, Star Asia Group will help to further propel Minacia's business growth in the highly competitive limited-service hotel sector. Star Asia Group will continue to pursue economies of scale (technology investment, sales and marketing, loyalty programs, etc.) and further increase brand awareness in the market. Star Asia Group believes that valuable synergies can be expected from future collaboration between Minacia and Polaris.

2． Overview of Minacia

3． Outline of the counterparty of the share acquisition

4． Number of shares acquired, acquisition price and status of shares held before and after acquisition

5． Schedule

For further information, please see our website: www.starasiamanagement.com

Polaris Website: https://www.polaris-holdings.com/

Star Asia Group

Star Asia is a privately owned, independent investment management group focused on delivering superior investment returns to its clients by investing primarily in Japanese real estate related opportunities. Star Asia Group is the sponsor of two Tokyo Stock Exchange listed companies, Star Asia Investment Corporation (TSE: 3468) and Polaris Holdings (TSE: 3010).

Star Asia was co-founded in 2006 by Malcolm F. MacLean IV and Taro Masuyama who each have over 25 years of experience in real estate, credit, corporate finance, capital markets and securitization. The group currently has a total of 728 employees in Japan and the United States, including over 55 professionals in its Tokyo office, as of March 2024. Star Asia's partners and employees share a long-term perspective and always operate under their Guiding Principles which continuously drive the group to become and remain one of the leading real estate investment management firms in Japan.

Since its inception, Star Asia has invested over JPY1.27 trillion (as of December 31, 2023) in real estate related opportunities including properties, loans, securitized assets, and companies. The group's strong track record and long-term partnership approach with our investors have been integral in attracting significant capital from sophisticated global investors, including large U.S. university endowments and foundations, sovereign wealth funds, U.S. and Asia based family offices as well as other global real estate investors. The group is committed to its disciplined Investment Philosophy with a single goal of meeting and exceeding its clients' expectations for the mandates we are given.

Star Asia Group Website: https://starasiamanagement.com/

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