Xenia Sues Kimpton Hotels Buyer for Backing Out Over Coronavirus

Xenia Hotels & Resorts Inc. sued a private Singaporean holding company in Delaware, claiming it owes $20 million for backing out of a $483 million deal to acquire seven Kimpton Hotel locations temporarily shuttered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Notwithstanding the fact that warnings of an imminent global pandemic were widespread when the agreement was being negotiated,” the lawsuit says, “defendants did not bargain for or obtain the right to terminate the agreement if the pandemic had a material adverse effect on the hotel properties.”

There’s also “no force majeure clause excusing defendants’ performance for acts of god or other circumstances ...