By SHINYA TAKAGI/ Staff Writer
February 6, 2022 at 13:30 JST
Seibu Holdings Inc. has taken such a heavy hit from the COVID-19 pandemic it is close to selling 30 or so properties in Japan, including Prince brand hotels, to Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC for about ¥150 billion ($1.3 billion), according to sources familiar with the proposed deal.
Among the properties it plans to sell are The Prince Park Tower Tokyo, Prince Hotel Sapporo, Grand Prince Hotel Hiroshima, as well as golf courses, the sources said.
However, an official with Seibu Holdings cautioned that “nothing is final yet.”
Seibu Holdings, citing plunging revenues from tourism, projected 14 billion yen in net losses for the year ending in March 2022, chalking up a substantial red ink figure for the second consecutive year.
Prince Hotels Inc., a Seibu Holdings subsidiary, operates 49 hotels, of which it owns 41.
But Seibu Holdings will not sell its hotels in Tokyo’s central Shinagawa and Takanawa districts, where redevelopment projects are under way, and in the Karuizawa resort area in mountainous Nagano Prefecture in central Japan.
Seibu Holdings is set to continue operating the hotels even after their sale and retain the Prince Hotel brand.
Last year, it announced plans to sell off some of its properties as part of a mid-term management plan to increase cash flow.
In January, it said it will sell most of its shares of Seibu Construction Co., a subsidiary, to Mirait Holdings Corp., a major telecommunications construction company, for about 62 billion yen.
GIC is one of Asia’s largest investment companies. It acquired Hawks Town, a commercial complex in Fukuoka, in 2007 and Pacific Century Place Marunouchi, an office building in front of the Tokyo Station, in 2014.
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The Prince Park Tower Tokyo in the capital’s Minato Ward. It is among properties that Seibu Holdings Inc. is considering selling to Singapore’s GIC fund. (Provided by Prince Hotels Inc.)
