Renaissance Waverly Part of $262M Portfolio Sold to Inland

By Georgiana Mihaila, Associate Editor

DiamondRock Hospitality Company has completed the previously announced sale of a three-hotel portfolio to Inland American for $262.5 million. The 521-room Atlanta Renaissance Waverly hotel was part of the deal, along with Austin’s 492-room Renaissance and the 409-room Griffin Gate Marriott Resort & Spa in Lexington, Kentucky.

“We are pleased to announce the completion of the sale of the three hotels to Inland American. We believe the disposition achieves three primary benefits for DiamondRock: (1) improves portfolio quality and market concentration; (2) enhances the Company’s already best-in-class balance sheet by reducing debt by $180 million and increasing corporate cash by approximately $93 million; and (3) further positions DiamondRock to be an opportunistic acquirer of hotels in 2012,” stated Mark W. Brugger, chief executive officer of DiamondRock Hospitality Company.

DiamondRock made the first official announcement that it had entered into a purchase and sale agreement with an affiliate of Inland American for the 1,422-room portfolio on October 19, 2011. According to an official statement, all of the hotels are subject to long-term management agreements with Marriott International, Inc. Inland American, through its affiliates, acquired the portfolio for a contractual sales price of $262.5 million.

As part of the sale, the company received approximately $10 million for hotel working capital and cash previously held in restricted escrow accounts, net of closing costs. The hotels collectively generated $21.1 million of Adjusted EBITDA for DiamondRock in 2011.

The 521-room Renaissance Waverly, located in Northwest Atlanta, is attached to the Cobb Galleria Centre—a 320,000-square-foot convention center—and the Cucumber Mall.

Photo Credits: Marriott International Official Website