Hilton announced an agreement with Adventurous Journeys Capital Partners (AJ Capital) to acquire the Graduate Hotels brand, a collection of lifestyle hotels. Hilton will pay $210 million to acquire all rights to the Graduate brand worldwide, enter into franchise agreements for all existing and signed pipeline Graduate Hotels and become responsible for the brand’s future development and growth.

AJ Capital will remain the owner of the more than 35 operating and pipeline Graduate properties, each of which will be operated under long-term Hilton franchise agreements. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter.

Chris Nassetta, CEO of Hilton, said that adding Graduate to the company’s portfolio “accelerates our expansion in the lifestyle space by pairing an existing much-loved brand with the power of Hilton’s strong commercial engine to drive growth.”

Each Graduate hotel, according to the announcement, is located in a university town and is designed to reflect the character of the educational institution. Since its inception in 2014, the brand has grown in the US and the UK, including locations in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Knoxville, Tennessee; Palo Alto, California; State College, Pennsylvania; and Oxford and Cambridge, England. New hotels are scheduled to open soon in Austin and Dallas, Texas; Auburn, Alabama; and Princeton, New Jersey.

Ben Weprin, founder of Graduate and CEO of AJ Capital, said he is certain the partnership “will propel Graduate Hotels to even greater heights, while AJ’s ongoing ownership of the real estate assets lays a strong foundation for our future success.”

Image: Courtesy of Graduate Hotels