(By Balachander) Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: HST) said its joint venture in Europe has acquired five hotels for roughly 440 million euros ($574 million).
Host Hotels & Resorts, which holds a 33.4 percent interest in the venture, said the deal provides the venture with further brand and geographic diversification by adding hotels in three major submarkets in Paris and supplementing its presence in Amsterdam's city center.
The purchase price has been partially funded by a 250 million euros loan secured by the properties with an interest rate of around 4.4 percent, the company said.
According to Host Hotels, Paris has some of the strongest market fundamentals in Europe with high barriers to entry and historically strong RevPAR growth. Amsterdam is a key commercial hub in Europe that consistently ranks among the highest RevPAR markets in Europe.
The five fee simple properties include the 757-room Paris Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel & Conference Center, the 402-room Renaissance Amsterdam Hotel, the 327-room Renaissance Paris La Defense Hotel, the 97-room Renaissance Paris Vendome Hotel, and the 150-room Courtyard Paris La Defense West – Colombes.
Host Hotels owns 104 properties in the United States and 15 properties internationally totaling over 64,000 rooms. The company also holds non-controlling interests in a joint venture in Europe that owns 19 hotels with over 6,100 rooms.
HST stock, which has been trading in the 52-week range of $13.58 to $17.57, ended at $14.69 on Friday.