Shiji Group, a growing China-based tech firm with global reach in the hospitality sector and a presence in Atlanta, has reached a deal to sell off a U.S. subsidiary under pressure from President Trump.
The $46 million agreement will see Shiji’s StayNTouch property management software platform purchased by New York- and Dallas-based MCR Group, which has 92 branded hotels with 15,000 guestrooms.
Shiji said its main goal was to find a partner that could provide continuity to existing customers after a White House order in March called for the company to divest StayNTouch over national security concerns.
The company is one of many ensnared by Mr. Trump’s skepticism toward China-based tech firms, which the administration believes can be compelled to share American user data with the Chinese Communist Party. That same concern is driving the administration’s push for a sale of the U.S. operations of TikTok, the short-video sharing platform owned by China’s Bytedance Inc.
Shiji acquired StayNTouch in 2018, doubling its customer base in two years, the company said in a news release. StayNTouch is based in Bethesda, Md.
Beijing-based Shiji entered the Atlanta market in late 2018 after the publicly traded parent company raised $486 million from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, promising an international expansion that started with a new office in Sydney. Shiji promised 40 immediate jobs in Atlanta and 100 by the end of 2018. It’s unclear whether the StayNTouch divestiture will affect the Atlanta presence.
Shiji Group comprises more than 5,000 employees in more than 80 subsidiaries and brands serving more than 74,000 hotels.
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