REIT to Buy 21 Hotels for $250 Million
Ashford Hospitality Trust, a hotel real estate investment trust, said Monday that it had agreed to buy 21 U.S. hotels from sellers including George Soros for $250 million to gain more upscale properties.
The hotels include Hiltons, Embassy Suites, Radissons, Crowne Plazas and a Sheraton as well as eight properties it may sell or rebrand, the Dallas-based trust said.
The sellers are entities controlled by billionaire financier Soros, Fisher Bros. and the Gordon Getty Trust.
The properties, which include the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Beverly Hills, will broaden Ashford’s brands and territory, the trust said.
Ashford said it might sell hotels in the portfolio that contribute a smaller percentage of profit, including Howard Johnsons, Ramada Inns and a Best Western.
Security Capital Preferred Growth Inc. will invest as much as $75 million through the purchase of preferred stock to help fund the acquisition of the hotels, Ashford said.
Shares of Ashford rose 5 cents to $10.88 on Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. They have gained 19% in the last year.
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