Dive Brief:
- Together, Blackstone and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association have acquired a majority stake in hospitality technology provider M3, Blackstone announced Thursday.
- The move — AAHOA’s first-ever strategic investment — aims to accelerate M3’s growth through new product expansion and supporting the adoption of the company’s software, according to Blackstone.
- Blackstone declined to disclose terms of the transaction. In a statement, AAHOA Chairman Miraj Patel said the partnership will “bring AAHOA Members access to advanced technology and innovative solutions that can enhance operational efficiency and drive growth.”
Dive Insight:
M3 currently offers accounting, labor management and business intelligence services to more than 8,000 properties across North America, according to the release. The company’s hotel accounting software “enables hotel operators to run more efficiently and effectively,” according to Blackstone’s statement.
Blackstone is now M3’s first institutional capital partner.
In a public post on LinkedIn, Blackstone Growth Managing Director Ramzi Ramsey said the two companies first encountered each other when Blackstone was exploring “how to better utilize M3’s product” across its hospitality portfolio.
“Through this evaluation and numerous customer reference calls, it became clear that [founder John McKibbon] and his team built M3 with the utmost focus on product quality,” Ramsey wrote.
"Blackstone’s background in hospitality made them the natural choice as our first equity partner,” McKibbon said in a statement. “Together, we look forward to propelling our innovation and growth to best serve our customers in an era of continued technological advancement."
Allen Read and Casi Johnson, CEO and president of M3, respectively, said in a joint statement that the partnership will allow them “to continue to scale our vision, team, and culture."
The M3 investment isn’t Blackstone’s first foray into hospitality tech. In March of last year, the company acquired Cvent in a $4.6 billion deal. The deal came a few months after Blackstone Senior Managing Director Tyler Henritze noted at the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference, “We wish our hotel portfolio was bigger.”
