ORLANDO -- CNL Hospitality Properties, a real estate investment
trust here, agreed to buy hotel owner RFS Hotel Investors in
Memphis for about $687.6 million in cash and assumed debt.
A unit of CNL Financial group, CNL Hospitality said it would pay
$12.35 a share for RFS.
CNL Hospitality owns interests in 63 hotels with more than
16,000 rooms in 23 states. Major properties include the 950-room JW
Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Arizona and the
1,310-room Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort in Hawaii.
RFS owns interests in 57 hotels with approximately 8,271 rooms
in 24 states.
With the acquisition, CNL will own 120 hotel properties in 35
states under 18 different brands, including Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott
and Starwood. CNL becomes the nation's fifth-largest REIT.
As part of the agreement, Flagstone Hospitality Management, a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Interstate Hotels and Resorts, will
continue to manage a majority of RFS's hotel portfolio.