Oakwood Worldwide and Mapletree Group on Wednesday announced the signing of a corporate and serviced apartment joint venture that aims to open more than 100 new properties around the world over the next five years. Mapletree will acquire a 49% stake in Oakwood Asia Pacific (OAP), Oakwood’s serviced apartment business in Asia, and will target acquiring and developing some US$4 billion worth of corporate and serviced apartment assets within Asia, Europe and North America.
The joint venture aims to more than triple the number of branded Oakwood buildings around the world. In addition to the initial investment in OAP, Mapletree, a leading real estate development, investment and capital management company with operations across seven countries, will have an option to acquire additional interests in OAP following the deployment of the growth strategy.
Mapletree will directly acquire and develop serviced apartments under a license to use the Oakwood Worldwide brands in all markets managed by OAP outside of North America. Oakwood Worldwide will also source and manage acquisition and development deals for Mapletree within North America.
Oakwood Worldwide has branded properties throughout the U.S., London and in the Asia Pacific region where OAP manages the Oakwood-branded properties. These serviced apartments are located in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and Thailand.
“This was a unique opportunity for us to align with an investor who has the size and capability to allow for rapid expansion of our brand,” said Bill Foltz, Oakwood Worldwide’s chief financial officer and architect of the joint venture agreement. “Mapletree is a first-class organization and that’s why we knew they would be a great partner to expand our global offerings as they look to grow outside of the Asia Pacific region.”