Japan’s Seibu Prince to Buy Boutique Hospitality Brand Ace Hotel

Seibu Prince, based in Tokyo, agreed to pay $90 million for Ace Group International, according to a statement. The deal includes the hospitality brand and an in-house creative agency Atelier Ace. It is expected to close by Sept. 30.

In Ace, Seibu Prince is acquiring a boutique-hotel brand with outsize influence in the lodging world. It got its start in 1999, when it opened its first hotel in a former halfway house in Seattle and began courting a clientele of artists, musicians and people who wanted to hang out with them. The brand expanded to other cities including New York and Palm Springs, California.

The brand has properties in Athens, Kyoto and Toronto, and is adding an Ace Hotel Fukuoka in 2027. In 2023, Ace agreed to sell itself for $85 million, but the deal fell apart.

Seibu Prince, a core company of Seibu Group, operates a hospitality business that includes hotels, golf courses and ski resorts, with outposts in Japan, Singapore, Bahrain and the US.

By Patrick Clark