SOHO HOUSE OFFICIALLY GOES PRIVATE IN $2.7B deal
By Chief Editor | 1/30/2026
Soho House completes merger after dramatic funding crisis, MCR secures control of luxury club empire with $300M fresh equity injection on January 26, 2026
Key Points
- MCR Hotels completed $2.7 billion takeover on January 26, 2026, after securing $200 million alternative financing to replace MCR Hospitality Fund IV's withdrawn commitment
- Shareholders received $9 per share cash payout, an 83% premium to December 2024 prices, while 99.15% of voting power approved the merger on January 9
- New capital structure includes $220 million unsecured notes and $695 million secured facility, funding global expansion to 50th location milestone in 2026
## The Deal That Almost Died
Soho House officially completed its return to private ownership on January 26, 2026, ending a rollercoaster saga that nearly collapsed when MCR Hospitality Fund IV informed Yucaipa on January 5, 2026 that it would not be able to fund in full its previously committed $200 million equity purchase.
The parties secured approximately $200 million in alternative financing on January 13–14, 2026, including a creative cocktail of debt and equity. A $50 million equity commitment from Morse Ventures Inc., which has arranged a third-party secured note facility to support this funding, plus an increase in the senior unsecured notes facility from $150 million to $220 million.
The funding crisis exposed the reality of today's credit markets. When lenders got cold feet about hospitality debt, the deal required last-minute engineering that would make a Formula 1 pit crew proud.
## Numbers That Actually Matter
Shareholders approved the merger agreement during a special meeting on January 9, 2026, with 99.15% of roughly 1.47 billion potential votes represented at the meeting. Shareholders received $9.00 per share in cash, an 83% premium to the unaffected share price.
Fresh equity injections totaling $300 million on January 26, 2026 from Momentum Solutions II, MCR Hospitality funds and Morse Ventures provided the firepower. Ron Burkle and the Yucaipa Companies LLC will roll their controlling equity interests in the Company and retain majority control of the business.
Soho House put in place a sizeable new capital structure, including a $220 million senior unsecured notes facility at the holding company level and a $695 million senior secured notes facility at the operating company. That's nearly a billion dollars in fresh ammunition.
## What Comes Next
Soho House has unveiled ambitious plans for 2026, including several new locations across the Americas, Europe and Asia, following a busy final quarter and transformative 30th anniversary year in which it went private in a deal worth $2.7 billion.
The company is opening an entirely new location in NYC, Soho House Flatiron, which will be its fourth and largest in the city and will include a Soho Health Club with its "most advanced gym", a club, rooftop terrace, and hotel.
Next year will also mark what the company calls "a major milestone": its 50th house. Members around the world engage with Soho House through their global collection, as of June 29, 2025, of 46 Soho Houses, 8 Soho Works, Scorpios Beach Clubs in Mykonos and Bodrum.
The math is simple: private ownership means no quarterly earnings calls, no activist investors like Dan Loeb breathing down their necks, and the freedom to actually build something instead of managing stock prices. MCR gets a trophy asset, Yucaipa keeps control, and members get to pretend they're still exclusive while Soho House prints money in 50 cities.
Topics: soho-house, mcr-hotels, private-equity, hospitality, merger