News: Press Releases
Newbury, Piret & Co. Acts as Financial Advisor to management group in buy-in of corporate lodging management services business
June 18, 2003 -- Nautic Partners, LLC ("Nautic") today led an investment in Corporate Lodging Holdings, Inc. ("Corporate Lodging" or the "Company"), a leading provider of contract lodging management services, with over 200 customers and a network of over 13,000 hotel relationships across the U.S. Senior debt financing for the transaction was provided by Antares Capital Corporation and Merrill Lynch Capital. The size of the investment was not disclosed.
Founded in 1977 by Barry Downing, the current Chairman and CEO, and based in Wichita, KS, the Company has grown from its initial focus on end-customers in the LTL trucking industry to add customers in the railroad, airline, disaster recovery and corporate markets. The Company's service offering is based primarily on its ability to procure low prices on hotel rooms and to deliver significant savings to customers. Corporate Lodging accomplishes this by maintaining a broad network of hotels under contract, with whom it negotiates on behalf of its customers for room rate discounts. Corporate Lodging gains leverage in negotiations with hotels by controlling a significant volume of room nights, with over 6 million in 2002. The Company also provides highly customized compliance and audit reports to its customers, giving them greater control over their lodging programs.
Newbury, Piret acted as the financial advisor to the management team which participated in the acquisition of Corporate Lodging by Nautic Partners.