A real estate arm of a Japanese media group Fuji Media Holdings edged out a fund run by Morgan Stanley and others to purchase a hotel holding company from a Japanese government-controlled fund, people involved in the sale said. The sale of the company with portfolio of 10 hotels for about 5 billion yen ($41.2 million) comes at a time when competition to buy hotels in Japan has been intensifying and drawing interest from offshore investors because of increasing demand from tourists.The Regional Economy Vitalization Corporation of Japan, which is funded by the government, said on Friday it had sold Granvista Hotels & Resorts, to Sankei Building Co, which teamed up with a Japanese turnaround fund J-Will Partners.Other than Morgan Stanley-affiliated fund, financial services provider Orix Corp was also among those interested in acquiring the company. Both declined to comment.Sankei Building is fully owned by Fuji Media Holdings , which owns a television network and the conservative daily newspaper Sankei Shimbun.
Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides its products and services to a range of clients and customers, including corporations, governments, financial institutions and individuals. Shares of MS traded higher by 6.12% or $2.14/share to $37.09. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $28.31 and as high as $39.19. On average, 10683800 shares of MS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 18321012.
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