Starwood Capital Group and Shimao Property Holdings will
form a joint venture, collaborating on building, operating and branding hotels.
Shanghai-based Shimao and Starwood Capital will own 51% and
49% of the new company, respectively. The companies didn’t disclose how much
they will invest in the venture.
Founded in 2009, Shimao, through its Shimao Hotels and
Resorts division, oversees 20 hotels under the upper-upscale Yu, midscale
MiniMax and upscale MiniMax Premier brands.
The venture would be the first in China for Barry Sternlicht,
Starwood Capital's CEO, who notably founded the W Hotels lifestyle brand when
he ran Starwood Hotels..
Starwood Capital owns the 1 Hotels eco-luxe brand, which has
properties in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Miami Beach. It opened the Baccarat Hotel
New York in 2015.
Additionally, Starwood Capital last year debuted a U.K.
luxury brand called Principal out of what was previously known as PH Hotels.