Sunstone planning $1B hotel buying spree

Sunstone Hotel Investors, owner of the Hilton Times Square and 31 other hotel properties nationwide, is planning a $1 billion acquisition spree of large, high-end properties in major cities for 2011. The real estate investment trust has had to unload 10 hotels whose mortgages were underwater over the past two years, but is now aggressively trying to get back in the game under new leadership. Among the company’s first purchases of the year will be the remaining 62 percent stake in the Doubletree Guest Suites Times Square, for which it will pay $37.5 million. Sunstone already owns the other 38 percent of that hotel, and expects to close the deal this month. “Many deals last year, we spent months and months and months on to analyze the transaction until it essentially moved away from us,” said Kenneth Cruse, Sunstone’s new president and CFO. “We think going forward we are able to close many deals within two to three weeks.” [Bloomberg]

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter