Kasa has entered into what it called a "strategic combination" with fellow apartment-style accommodation provider Mint House, the company announced Tuesday. Most Mint House properties will join Kasa's network, and Mint House will not continue as a standalone business.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Both companies are privately held. Kasa founder and CEO Roman Pedan in an email to BTN said the deal was a cashless, all-equity transaction.
Mint House, which about a year ago acquired apartment-style accommodation provider Locale, had 22 properties after that deal. Pedan said Kasa would operate "the majority" of those properties under a new "Mint House by Kasa" brand.
"We are closing select properties where the existing contract type doesn't align with our model or quality bar doesn't meet our standard," according to Pedan.
Among the Mint House properties joining are the 70 Pine building in Lower Manhattan, along with properties in Dallas, Nashville, St. Petersburg and Tampa, Fla., and Washington, D.C. Kasa has more than 85 properties in the United States, according to the company.
Mint House CEO Christian Lee will join Kasa as a senior advisor "to support the transition and promote continuity for owners and partners," according to Kasa.
The move follows competitor Sonder's November decision to liquidate. When asked if Kasa was seeking additional M&A opportunities, Pedan in the email said "we are prioritizing driving property performance. We are obsessed with continuing to deeply invest in our commercial capabilities and guest experience outcomes. The bar for M&A is high and we are only pursuing it where there are strong strategic reasons to do so."
Pedan suggested interest in the segment among corporate travel buyers remained. "We're seeing corporate buyers increasingly look for alternatives to traditional hotels that still deliver consistency, safety, and program compliance," he said in the email. "This is why we’re particularly excited about the elevated aparthotel style product, corporate relationships and capabilities this Mint House transaction brings to Kasa's commercial platform."
Kasa was launched in 2016 and in 2020 raised $50 million in funding.