John Pritzker takes full control of Commune Hotels
06 Aug 2013
John Pritzker, a member of America's richest family, the Pritzker family, yesterday acquired the remaining 50 per cent he did not already own in Commune Hotels and Resorts, for an undisclosed amount.
John Pritzker acquired the stake from brothers, Jason, Michael and Lawrence Pomeranc through his private-equity firm Geolo Capital.
John Pritzker and New York City-based Pomeranc family had founded San Francisco-based hotel management firm Commune Hotels & Resorts in 2011.
Commune has 43 properties and 14 under development and operates them through three brands – Thompson, Joie de Vivre and Tommie.
The deal will give John Pritzker the Thompson Hotel brand name and full control of six hotels located in New York, Los Angeles, Miami Beach, Chicago, London and Toronto.
Not included in the deal are 60 other Thompson hotels, whose name will be changed under the brand-acquisition agreement.
The deal also includes more than 27 hotels in the Joie de Vivre chain located in California, Arizona, Chicago and Hawaii, and the first two Tommie hotels that are slated to open in Manhattan in 2015
John Pritzker, chairman of Commune said, "Consolidating ownership under one, hospitality-focused, well-financed and highly-committed owner allows Commune to move forward on its mission to build a multi-brand platform."
"After nearly 15 years, my brothers Lawrence, Michael and I are incredibly proud to see how Thompson Hotels has evolved into an enormously impactful global hospitality brand," said Jason Pomeranc. "We now look forward to exciting new endeavors and wish John Pritzker and the entire Commune family well."
