Among the noteworthy deals of the past week was Larry Ellison’s $277.4 million acquisition of the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa in Manalapan, Florida, from Lewis Trust Group.
MANALAPAN, Florida — Oracle software billionaire Larry
Ellison has acquired the beachfront, 309-key Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa in
Manalapan, Florida, just south of Palm Beach, for a reported $277.4 million. The
seller, London-based Lewis Trust Group, acquired the hotel in 2003 for $67.5 million while it was
flying the Ritz-Carlton flag.
Lewis Trust Group reportedly tried to sell the hotel in 2019
for $1 million per key but could not find the right buyer or the right price.
It was rebranded in 2013 to its current independent name and operates as a
member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts Legend Collection.
Ellison’s hotel portfolio already includes the Four Seasons
Resort Lanai, Sensei Lanai, Nobu Ryokan Malibu, Nobu Hotel Palo Alto, the Hyatt
Regency Lake Tahoe, and Sensei Porcupine Creek in Rancho Mirage, California.
The resort underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation in
2022 and Ellison, who owns a nearby estate, said he plans to further invest in
the property that during its initial heyday in the 1950s served as a playground
for elites such as the Fords, Vanderbilts and Rockefellers. It was originally
established as La Coquille Club in the 1950s, the resort has evolved since its
inception.
Eastdil Secured served as
adviser to Thomas Trust Group in the sale.
To download our list of deals from the past week in Excel
format, click here.