Fairmont San Francisco Hotel Sold For $450 Million

The companies that own world renowned Fairmont San Francisco Hotel atop Nob Hill were sold yesterday for $450 million by a partnership between funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. and real estate investor Michael Rosenfeld’s Woodridge Capital Partners LLC. Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) was also part of the selling group. The buyer is comprised of affiliated companies of Mirae Asset Global Investments, a large financial services company based in Seoul, Korea. Mirae is a pioneering financial services company that introduced the first mutual funds to Korea in 1998.

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, a luxury brand with more than 70 hotels globally, will continue to operate the storied hotel under a long term management agreement. Oaktree and Woodridge purchased the hotel in May 2012 and made major improvements through a comprehensive renovation plan. Members of the selling group also own two other Nob Hill hotels, the Mark Hopkins and Stanford Court.

The Fairmont San Francisco opened in 1907. Over its 108-year history, it has hosted every US President since William Howard Taft as well as innumerable foreign dignitaries, heads of state and entertainment stars. Many “firsts” have occurred at the Fairmont from the drafting of the United Nations Charter to Tony Bennett’s premier of “I Left My Heart in San Francisco". The Fairmont was home to America’s first concierge. The Beaux Arts-style building was designed by New York architectural firm McKim, Mead & White and Julia Morgan, also well known for her design of Hearst Castle.

With 592 guest rooms and suites and over 55,000 square feet of conference and function space, the hotel is renowned for its three restaurants and lounges including the Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar with its thunderstorms and floating stage. Its location at 950 Mason Street atop Nob Hill offers spectacular views of the city and the Bay, and is the only spot in San Francisco where each of the city’s cable car lines meet.

Oaktree is a leader among global investment managers specializing in alternative investments, with $100 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2015. The firm emphasizes an opportunistic, value-oriented and risk-controlled approach to investments in distressed debt, corporate debt (including high yield debt and senior loans), control investing, convertible securities, listed equities and real estate. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the firm has over 900 employees and offices in 17 cities worldwide.

Woodridge Capital Partners, LLC is a Los Angeles based real estate Investment and development Company founded by its CEO Michael Rosenfeld. Woodridge owns a broad range of hotel, resort, residential, and commercial properties throughout the United States. Woodridge’s holdings include the Mark Hopkins Hotel and Stanford Court in San Francisco, The Century Plaza in Los Angeles and the Ritz Carlton Kapalua, Maui. The firm received the Single Asset Transaction of the Year Award by the Americas Lodging Investment Summit and the 2012 San Francisco Business Times Hotel Deal of the Year Award.

Mirae Asset Global Investments is one of the world's largest investment managers in emerging market equities. Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, the firm manages approximately $73 billion in assets globally through a diversified platform to offer market-leading franchises in traditional equity and fixed income products, ETFs and alternative strategies, such as real estate, private equity and hedge funds. In 2004, the firm launched Korea's first real estate fund, and has acquired commercial real estate properties valued over $8 billion. Since 2011, the firm has further diversified its real estate portfolio to hotels, including 317-room Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, 531-room Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, 540-room Fairmont Orchid Hotel, and 282-room Courtyard by Marriott Seoul Pangyo. Acquisition of Fairmont San Francisco not only added 591 rooms to its hotel portfolio, but also diversified its geographic footprint around Pan-Pacific region.

Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), chaired by HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, is a publicly traded company that listed on Tadawul (the Saudi Stock Exchange) in 2007. KHC is one of the world’s most successful and diversified financial investment enterprises with global investments in banking, hospitality, media, information technology, health and education. Considered one of the most diversified hospitality investors globally, KHC holds major interests in industry-leading luxury hotel management companies Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts (47.5%), Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (35.3%), and Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts (33.1%). It also owns a real estate portfolio comprising 19 iconic hotels worldwide.