CNL Hotels & Resorts Agrees to Sell Its Interest in the Hampton Inn Chelsea For an Estimated Gain of $17 Million
CNL Hotels & Resorts, Inc., the nation's second largest hotel real estate investment trust, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Hersha Hospitality Trust to sell its 66.7 percent interest in the partnership that owns the 144-room Hampton Inn Chelsea in New York. The sale price is based on a valuation of $54.0 million for the property, or approximately $375,000 per key, resulting in an estimated net gain of approximately $17 million.
Thomas J. Hutchison III, chief executive officer of CNL Hotels & Resorts, stated, "The sale of our interest in the Hampton Inn Chelsea reflects our strategy to focus on high-end hotels and resorts and to selectively monetize the value in non-core assets by leveraging strong market fundamentals. We are also particularly pleased to have worked with an experienced Hersha management team on this venture."
CNL Hotels & Resorts intends to use the net proceeds from the sale primarily to retire existing debt. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2006, subject to closing conditions, although there can be no assurance that the sale will be completed.
About CNL Hotels & Resorts, Inc.
CNL Hotels & Resorts, Inc. is a leading real estate investment trust and owner of one of the most distinctive portfolios in the lodging industry. With a focus on luxury and upper-upscale properties, the company currently has approximately $6 billion in total assets with 92 hotels and resorts across North America that operate under premium brands such as The Waldorf=Astoria Collection, Hilton, The Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, Marriott and Hyatt. For more information, please visit http://www.cnlhotels.com/ .
Certain items in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding a sale of stated property and the expected use of proceeds from such sale and other statements that are not historical facts, and/or statements containing words such as "anticipate(s)," "expect(s)," "intend(s)," "plan(s)," "could," "target(s)," "project(s)," "will," "believe(s)," "seek(s)," "estimate(s)" and similar expressions. These statements are based on management's current expectations, beliefs and assumptions and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including those outside of the Company's control that could lead to actual results materially different from those described in the forward-looking statements. The Company can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations and from those described in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: a change in the national economy; changes in market conditions; the occurrence of terrorist activities or other disruptions to the travel and leisure industries; natural disasters; and such other risk factors as may be discussed in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.
Source: CNL Hotels & Resorts, Inc.
Web site: http://www.cnlhotels.com/
