Yuval Tal
Yuval Tal is a partner in Proskauer's Corporate Department where he co-heads our internationally recognized Hospitality, Gaming & Leisure Group. Yuval also heads our Asia practice. He is a general corporate and securities lawyer with diverse experience in cross-border mergers & acquisitions (public and private, debt and equity), long-term joint ventures, private equity real estate and corporate and real estate finance. He advises clients on the full range of their activities including any form of financing, operational matters and commercial transactions. He advises sponsors and funds on the structuring, execution, entering into, restructuring and exiting of investments.
Yuval has decades of experience representing clients on complex, first in kind transactions. His strength is providing original, workable and practical solutions that get the deal done. Qualified in New York, Hong Kong and Israel, Yuval has negotiated transactions in six continents and has experience representing clients on cross border transactions, including inbound to or outbound from Asia. Yuval regularly works with clients in various industries including real estate, hospitality, entertainment, sports, financial services, technology and life sciences.
As an international M&A lawyer, Yuval has many years of experience dealing with complicated, non-customary transactions involving parties from different countries, cultures and legal systems. He has represented private equity, family offices, corporations and individuals in structuring, restructuring, managing and disposing of investments in Asia, Europe and the United States. He is typically called upon to strategize and structure complex transactions that do not follow a prescribed form or pattern. Yuval’s experience enables him to forsee future issues and clients have commented on his “ability to think seven moves ahead of the competition”. Yuval is also well known for his ability to broker deals between opposing parties in order to get the deal done, irrespective of the legal, business or practical obstacles.
As co-head of Proskauer's Hospitality, Gaming & Leisure Group, Yuval has worked on virtually any kind of transaction in the hospitality space, including mixed-use development and construction, acquisition and sale, restructuring and public offerings of real estate, hotel and casino companies. His experience covers traditional and more bespoke hospitality products such as hotels, casinos, branded residences, private clubs, nightclubs, restaurants and theme parks. He has completed numerous high profile transactions involving the buying, selling and combining hotel operating companies and brands, including AccorHotels’ [EPA:AC] US$2.9 billion acquisition of Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel brands, its acquisition of Tribe, Australia’s first integrated modular hotel brand, Accor’s long-term alliance with Huazhu Hotels Group (also known as China Lodging Group [Nasdaq: HTHT]) and its strategic partnership with Singapore-based Banyan Tree Holdings [SGX:B58]. He also advised Formosa International Hotels’ sale and resulting joint venture with Intercontinental Hotels Group with respect to the Regent brand. Recent transactions include the acquisition of sbe and subsequent formation of Ennismore, a worldwide hospitality lifestyle platform which currently owns 14 brands and operates over 100 properties, and the subsequent sale of a 10.8% interest to a Qatari based consortium; a strategic agreement for the development of the Faena brand, the sale of the Mexico-based Hoteles City Express brand to Marriott for $100 million, the reorganization of the Sydell brand and Accor’s sale and long term license concerning the Accor Vacation Club. His broader Private Equity Real Estate experience includes working on The Recording Academy’s (The Grammys) deal to develop Grammy Museums in China, a public/private deal to finance an office building in Delhi, India; acquisitions of hotels in Bangkok by a large Japanese institutional investor and a joint venture between a Hong Kong developer and an Asian based private equity fund for the acquisition and redevelopment of a property in Kowloon into a mixed use property including co-living and co-working properties.
Yuval’s broader Private Equity Real Estate experience includes working on specialty real estate such as The Recording Academy’s (The Grammys) deal to develop Grammy Museums in China, a public/private deal to finance an office building in Delhi, India; acquisitions of hotels in Bangkok by a large Japanese institutional investor and a joint venture between a Hong Kong developer and an Asian based private equity fund for the acquisition and redevelopment of a property in Kowloon into a mixed use property including co-living and co-working properties.
Yuval is a member of the Hospitality Development Council of ULI in both the United States and Asia and was d member of the Steering Committee of the Asian council; he was also a member of the Law 360 2020 Hospitality Editorial Board. He is a regular speaker at real estate and hospitality related conferences such as the Hotel Investment Conference Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong.
Prior to rejoining Proskauer in 1999, Yuval practiced law in Israel, representing Israeli clients in transactions in Europe and the United States and European and U.S.-based clients in transactions in Israel. He handled transactions for major publicly traded Israeli companies such as Clal (Israel) Ltd., LifeWatch, Kitan Consolidated Ltd., Orckit Communications Ltd., ECI Telecom Ltd., Scitex Corporation Ltd. and Tecnomatix Technologies Ltd. Since joining Proskauer, Yuval has continued to represent Israeli clients on a wide range of corporate and securities matters.
