Title Insurer Secures $1.6b In Fairmont Closing

July 25, 2006

First Canadian Title, a leading provider of title insurance in Canada, added the recent acquisition of Fairmont Hotels and Resorts Inc. by Kingdom Hotels International and Colony Capital to the list of major, high profile real estate transactions title insured by the company. The transaction involved the purchase of a number of Canada's most prominent, historic hotel properties such as The Fairmont Chateau Whistler, The Fairmont Banff Springs, The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and The Fairmont Le Château Montebello.

The total amount for assets involved in the transaction across the world came to an aggregate of $3.7 billion (US) with the majority of real estate assets being located in Canada.

"Good governance, executive liability, and public and shareholder accountability are all priority issues for executives and directors of companies," explains John Rider, Vice President, Commercial Division, First Canadian Title. "As a result, business leadership is increasingly turning to commercial title insurance as a best practice - an effective means to reduce liability and risk, and protect shareholder interests, when entering complex transactions such as this one."

Fairmont real estate assets also included properties in the United States, Mexico and Barbados. As a result, First Canadian Title worked closely with its parent company First American Title in Los Angeles and New York, as well as a number of leading international law firms.

"In the past, material business transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions, have resulted in the need for a complex series of surveys, full title and off-title searches and title opinions," says Rider. "It was a long and expensive process that, in the end, provided a legal "snapshot" of the transaction assets, but not an assurance of protection. Commercial title insurance provides protection and certainty for the client."

Commercial title services offered by First Canadian Title include:

- Mortgage Portfolio Services - Registration Services - Tax and Search Services - PPSA insurance

First Canadian Title has underwritten a number of key real estate transactions throughout Canada, including transactions involving Hbc (Hudson's Bay Company), the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization, KFC franchises across Canada, and the West Edmonton Mall.

Source: First Canadian Title


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