OSAKA (Kyodo) Osaka-based hotel chain Toyo Hotel Ltd. said Friday it will sell its operations to a unit of Morgan Stanley Group Inc. of the United States on Sept. 1 for an undisclosed sum.
The hotel chain aims to rebuild its management and draw more customers after renovating its facilities through investments to be provided by the Morgan Stanley group, it said.
The hotel will keep its name for the time being and maintain about 300 staff, it said.
Toyo Hotel started operations in 1969 in a bid to draw customers visiting the Osaka world expo. Its business has been sluggish for the past decade due to competition from other hotels.