Trending
Lone Star buys Westin LAX
747-key hotel last changed hands in 2006; second major airport-area sale this year
Another hotel at LAX Airport has traded hands, The Real Deal has learned.
Dallas-based private equity firm Lone Star Funds purchased the 747-key Westin LAX from Host Hotels & Resorts, sources familiar with the acquisition told The Real Deal. Lone Star Funds did not respond to a request for comment, while a representative from Host Hotels declined to comment on the sale.
A limited liability company affiliated with Host Hotels & Resorts also filed a notice of sale this month, records show, saying it would transfer its liquor license at the hotel to an entity linked to Hudson Advisors — a limited partnership that manages assets for Lone Star Funds.
Host Hotels bought the hotel in 2006 for $102 million, about $136,000 per room, according to financial filings. The price of the recent sale remains undisclosed, and the land under the hotel is currently leased from a third-party for a minimum rent of $1.23 million annually.
As one of the largest private real estate funds in the U.S., Lone Star Funds is also an active investor in hotels across the world. Last year, the firm spent $1.9 billion to acquire a majority stake in
Japan-based hotel chain Unizo.
The private equity firm recently formed a new value-add fund last month, though no investments have yet been disclosed, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
It currently has three other commercial real estate funds open, totaling $3.5 billion in committed capital, according to its website.
Last week in Florida, Lone Star teamed up with retail investor Woolbright Development to buy a 43-acre mall in Palm Beach County for $101.7 million.
The Westin LAX is the largest hotel to have sold across Los Angeles County this year.
In June, the Southwest Carpenters Trust Fund bought the 508-room Hyatt Regency at LAX Airport for $75 million – about $148,000 per room – from Amalgamated Bank. The deal carried one of the highest price tags for any hotel sale in the first six months of the year in the Los Angeles area, tying with the $75 million sale of the J.W. Marriott in Santa Monica.
The sale in Santa Monica was pricier at nearly $429,000 per room.