Hafa Adai Hotel major shares sold to Morgan Stanley group

Majority shares of the Hafa Adai Hotel have been sold to U.S.-based investment group Morgan Stanley, through a group called Marianas Holdings LCC.

Kinki Nippon Tourist Co., which holds majority shares of the hotel, sent a notice yesterday to its Saipan-based partners confirming that its shares would now belong to Marianas Holdings LCC.

A Nikkei Net Interactive report dated Sept. 23, 2004, said that Kinki Nippon Tourist Co., a major travel agency in Japan, would sell two hotel companies: Hafa Adai Hotel and Hotel Sunflower Saporro, as well as its Tokyo-based real estate leasing firm, to Morgan Stanley for a total of Y4.2 billion yen.

The report said that the travel agency aims to liquidate “the real estate leasing company in Tokyo and withdraw from overseas hotel operations by selling its Saipan hotel.”

The travel agency expects to incur a Y13 billion yen loss by end of December 2004. The loss, however, would be partially offset “by profit from the sale of a travel operation for seniors,” Nikkei Net quoted a company spokesperson as saying.

Meantime, the Tenorio and Guerrero families, who control the “minority” shares of the hotel, have expressed disappointment over the news.

Brenda Tenorio, the authorized spokesperson of the families, said no prior consultation was made on the sale.

“We’re not happy about this. We’re extremely disappointed,” Tenorio said.

She admitted that changes in the corporate representation of the hotel have made the partnership “difficult.”

“It’s been a long-time business relationship and over the years, the corporate representatives have changed. This has had an impact on the relationship,” she said.

Tenorio cautioned “others similarly situated to be mindful [of corporate changes].” “It’s very important,” she said.

Another member of the Tenorio-Guerrero clan said that while corporate representatives have changed, the management of the hotel “regrettably remained the same—they are not doing well.”

A family member also said that they are looking into selling their local shares. “We have been diligently negotiating to sell our interests,” said a local shareholder.

The local partners are composed, among others, by the Joeten family, Juan S. Santiago, Guerrero siblings led by Juan Pan T. Guerrero, and others.

Hafa Adai, is one of the first hotels built on Saipan. It was originally located on Navy Hill and relocated to Beach Road about 30 years ago.

The hotel, which has become one of the tallest, if not the tallest, building on island, used to operate as a wooden bungalow.

“The entire family was involved [in the hotel business] since the beginning,” said Tenorio.

Hafa Adai president Mitsuhiro Fukuda could not be reached for comment as of press time.