It seems that there are strategic hotels that are being acquired by Blackstone. The deal is a stunning $6 billion.
The real estate investment trust Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (BEE) has decided Tuesday to be attained by private equity firm Blackstone Group L.P. (BX) for $14.25 per share in an all-cash deal valued at about $6 billion, including outstanding debt, as revealed by RTT News.
The deal also comprises of the acquisition of all of the outstanding membership units of the corporation's subsidiary, Strategic Hotels Funding L.L.C., that are not held by the company, for a similar amount per unit in value.
The deal, universally permitted by the Board of Directors of Strategic Hotels, will probably be finalized in the first quarter of 2016, although it is still subject to approval by Strategic Hotel's stockholders. Nevertheless, the agreement is not subject to a funding contingency.
It has been noted that Blackstone will pay $14.25 per share for a premium of about 13 percent over the intraday trading price on July 23. On Aug. 17, the real estate investment trust established that it had employed J.P. Morgan to aid in exploring various strategic options for the company. Strategic Hotels owns 17 properties in the U.S. with a total of 7,921 rooms and 847,000 square feet of meeting and banqueting space, as stated in a report by Market Watch.
As for the current condition of the company, Strategic Hotels' shares have increased two percent in the year through Friday, while the S&P 500 has fallen 6.7 percent.
Gellein Raymond, Strategic Hotels' Chairman and CEO, said: "We believe this transaction capitalizes on our unique portfolio, strong asset management platform and continued operating outperformance over the past several years."
The executive further added that, "The board thoroughly considered various alternatives over the course of the past few years, and this all cash offer from Blackstone creates significant stockholder value with a high degree of execution certainty."
