Blackstone Purchasing Strategic Hotels in $6 Billion Deal

CHICAGO (Chicago Tribune/TNS) —

New York investment firm Blackstone is purchasing Chicago-based Strategic Hotels and Resorts in a $6 billion deal, Strategic announced Tuesday.

Affiliates of Blackstone Real Estate Partners have agreed to pay $14.25 per share in cash for Strategic, which owns 18 high-end hotels and had been looking for a buyer.

“Our board and management team have consistently stated that we would consider any opportunity that maximizes stockholder value,” Strategic Chairman and CEO Raymond L. “Rip” Gellein said in a news release. “The board thoroughly considered various alternatives over the course of the past few years, and this all-cash offer from Blackstone creates significant stockholder value with a high degree of execution certainty.”

The price reflects a premium of 13 percent of the price on July 23, when news of the possible purchase first broke. It represents a 4.8 percent premium over Friday’s closing price of $13.60 a share. The firms said they expect to conclude the deal by the first quarter of 2016.

In trading Tuesday, Strategic shares rose 47 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $14.07.

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