Ho Chi Minh hotel.

Frank Buckley and Chris Bonbright recently spent a week in Vietnam--and they weren't on vacation.

Rather, the Ramsey-Shilling Commercial Real Estate Services Inc. brokers, who normally work Hollywood, brokered the $22 million sale of a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. The pair represented a Hong Kong-based seller of the 248-room Omni Saigon Hotel to VinaCapital Group, a Vietnam-based private equity firm.

The duo were tapped to work the deal because of a business relationship Ramsey-Shilling has with Darian Management Group, a San Marino-based talent management and business consulting firm that does work in Vietnam. Darian acted as an advisor on the sale.

Buckley said the deal, which closed in February, offered an opportunity to take part in an unusual business situation. "It was a fascinating process being in a conference room with a Japanese seller, a Vietnamese-based private equity group and legal counsel from Beijing and Singapore," he said.

Buckley, managing director for Ramsey-Shilling, said he found VinaCapital from a list of prospective buyers that included hospitality companies and other private equity firms. The sale price was reached after an intense bidding war with an unnamed company.

Staff reporter Daniel Miller can be reached at [phone], ext. 263, or [e-mail].