Starwood Capital Completes Sale Of Four Iconic Groupe Du Louvre Hotels In France

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Feb 01, 2013, 08:00 ET

GREENWICH, Conn., Feb. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Starwood Capital Group, a leading private investment firm, announced today that its Groupe Du Louvre (GDL) affiliate has completed the sale of four iconic luxury hotels in France, continuing the successful resolution of Starwood's 2005 Societe Du Louvre acquisition which continue to generate strong returns for Starwood's investors. The assets were sold to Constellation Hotels Holdings Ltd and will be managed by Hyatt Hotels Corporation going forward. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The four properties - Concorde Lafayette, Hotel du Louvre, Martinez and Palais de la Mediterranee - were all acquired as part of the 2005 $3.2 billion acquisition of Societe Du Louvre, a conglomerate which included Europe's second-largest hotel network now called Louvre Hotels Group, and Groupe Taittinger, owner of champagne producer Taittinger CCVC, among other holdings. "Completing the sale of a majority of our luxury hotel assets marks an important milestone in the ongoing monetization of the GDL portfolio," said Barry Sternlicht, Chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group. "We have sold more than $3 billion in assets since closing, and will continue to maximize the value of our remaining assets to generate attractive returns for our investor partners. In the coming years, we expect to continue our expansion and renovation of our Louvre Hotels Group portfolio and to support the growth of Baccarat into new geographies, with a focus on Asia, expanding its presence in the hotel and residential arena."

The sale of these four hotels plus prior divestitures of Taittinger CCVC, Annick Goutal and several other hotel properties have generated approximately $3 billion in total proceeds. The company retains ownership of Louvre Hotels Group, which has grown from 805 hotels at acquisition to north of 1,090 hotels today under its four brands; Premiere Classe, Campanile, Kyriad and Golden Tulip. Louvre Hotels Group is the eighth largest hotel network in the world and operates in 39 countries.

Revenue and market share have increased across the portfolio despite challenging economic conditions in Europe, and Starwood's plans for Louvre Hotels Group will focus on continuing to improve national sales and distribution platforms, opportunistically expanding the brand worldwide, renovating core assets and completing selective accretive dispositions of non-core real estate. The parent company, GDL, is also the majority owner of Baccarat S.A., the 248 year old irreverent crystal company focusing on lighting, jewelry, tabletop and gift categories worldwide. In late 2012, Baccarat welcomed Catterton Partners into its ownership group. Catterton is a consumer focused private equity firm based in the United States, with exceptional experience in growing luxury brands. Baccarat achieved record sales last year. Baccarat is opening its first flagship hotel and residences in late 2014 in New York City, on West 53^rd Street just off Fifth Avenue and directly across the street from the Modern Museum of Art. Baccarat is also opening a new flagship store on Madison Avenue in New York City this summer.

About Starwood Capital Group

Starwood Capital Group is a private, U.S.-based investment firm with a core focus on global real estate. Since the group's inception in 1991, the firm has raised over $16 billion of equity capital and, through its various funds, has invested $13.7 billion representing $36 billion in assets. Starwood Capital Group currently has over $22 billion of assets under management. Starwood Capital Group maintains offices in Greenwich, Atlanta, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Chicago, and affiliated offices in London, Luxembourg, Paris, Mumbai and Sao Paulo. Starwood Capital Group has invested in nearly every class of real estate on a global basis, including office, retail, residential, senior housing, golf, hotels, resorts and industrial assets. Starwood Capital Group and its affiliates have successfully executed an investment strategy that includes building enterprises around core real estate portfolios in both the private and public markets. Additional information about Starwood Capital can be found at www.starwoodcapital.com.