U.S.-based private equity fund Apollo is looking to expand its support for Thai hotels in the wake of its $65-million investment in MahaNakhon, the country's tallest building, developed by SET-listed developer Pace Development Corporation. Goldman Sachs is also investing $70 million in the building, which will include hotel space.
"It is our first time to invest in Thailand after we have investing in Asia for 15 years," Philip Mintz, head of Apollo in Asia, told the Bangkok Post. "The opportunity to invest in such a well-constructed trophy tower and work with a developer like Pace was compelling." The $65-million deal reportedly accounted for 10 percent of the company’s total investment in Asia, the majority of which was in India and Australia.
Together, Apollo and Goldman Sachs will control 49 percent of Pace Project 1 Co. and Pace Project 3 Co., two of Pace's subsidiaries that are developing the 154-room Bangkok Edition Hotel.
Pace CEO Sorapoj Techakraisri told the Post that the capital from Apollo and Goldman Sachs will be used to repay project bank loans that were used to develop the project. The developer will also use the capital to continue developing the hotel and the observation desk at MahaNakhon, which will open in the fourth quarter of this year.