CNL Hotels & Resorts' stockholders
approved a plan to sell a portfolio of 51 properties to a fund
managed by Morgan Stanley Real Estate and Ashford Hospitality
Trust. The stockholders also approved CNL's merger with Morgan
Stanley Real Estate.
Under the terms
of the merger agreement, stockholders will be entitled to receive
$20.50 in cash for each share of CNL common stock they
own.
In late January,
Ashford Hospitality Trust signed a definitive agreement to acquire
the portfolio of 51 hotels from CNL in a $2.4 billion
transaction.
The portfolio
includes 24 full-service, upper-upscale hotels with a total of
7,953 rooms under several brands, including Hilton, Embassy Suites,
Marriott, JW Marriott, Doubletree, Renaissance and
Hyatt.
Another 27
select-service hotels with a total of 5,571 rooms under several
brands are also part of the portfolio. The brands include Courtyard
by Marriott, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites, Fairfield Inn,
TownePlace Suites and Hampton Inn.
As part of the
transaction, Morgan Stanley retains eight of CNL's properties,
including three operating under Hilton's Waldorf-Astoria Collection
brand: the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa in Maui; the La
Quinta Resort & Club and PGA West in La Quinta, Calif.; and the
Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix.
Last December,
CNL sold a portfolio of 32 hotels to Whitehall Street Global Real
Estate in a $405 million transaction.
To contact the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail
to Michael Milligan at [email protected].