🠈  Starwood  🠊

Starwood Capital Group

Starwood Capital Group is a private equity firm based in Miami Beach, Fl. The group bought a notable collection of hotels which it operated as Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide. Starwood sold the hotel group to Marriott.

The investment firm was founded by Barry Sternlicht (1960-present) who developed an appetite for large financial deals while working for JMB Realty. Sternlicht oversaw the $425 million purchase of Randsworth Trust PLC in 1989 which went bust after a market collapse. Sternlicht then set out on his own.

Corporate History

I have a confession to make. Back in 2005, when Starwood launched the Aloft brand, I actually believed the company was set on the path of creating a world class hotel chain. I originally wrote this page with the idea that that was the direction of the firm. The history indicates that the company is about the deals and not about creating something.

• 1991: Barry Sternlicht founded Starwood Capital Group as an REIT financed by the Ziff and Burden families. He invested in properties sold by the Resolution Trust Company established by the FDIC to sell apartments from failed savings and loans.
• 1993: Starwood swapped its portfolio of 6,000 apartments for a 20% stake in Equity Realty by Sam Zell.
• 1994: Starwood, in partnership with Goldman Sachs, acquired Westin Hotels & Resorts from Aoki Corporation of Japan for $561 million.
• 1995: Starwood acquired Hotel Investors Trust which was a nearly bankrupt REIT.
• 1998: Starwood acquired Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton and The Luxury Collection from ITT Sheraton.
• 1999: Starwood launched the “W” Hotels brand of hotels.
• 2005: Starwood launched the Aloft brand of boutique hotels with a modern flair.
• 2005: In a joint venture with Lehman Brothers, Starwood Hotels acquired Le Méridien brand with 130 hotels.^5,6

  L'Histoire de "Le Méridien"⁷

  • 1972: Air France launched the chain with Le Méridien Etoile in Paris.⁷
  • 1994: The British Forte Group acquired Le Meridien. They added Heritage Hotels and Posthouse Forte to the chain.
  • 1996: Granada PLC acquired Forte.
  • 2000: Granada merged with Compass Group PLC and the ownership passed to Compass.
  • 2001: Nomura Group aquire Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts from Compass for £1.9 billion and merged the chain with Principal Hotels.
  • 2003: The 9/11 attack had taken a bite out of international travel and the Lehman Brothers, the lead creditor, took control and began transition to Starwood.
• 2005: Starwood acquired Groupe du Louvre which owned Baccarat.
  • 2015: Starwood sold Groupe de Louvre but kept Baccarat.
• 2009: Starwood bought 40% of the loan portfolio of failed Corus Bankshares.
• 2010: Starwood lost a bid for bankrupt Extended Stay Hotels.
• 2010: Starwood received a majority ownership stake in bankrupt Riviera Holdings which owned the Riviera hotel in Las Vegas and Riviera Black Hawk in Colorado.
• 2012: Starwood started a chain called Baccarat Hotels and Resorts which featured crystal chandeliers from Baccarat.
• 2012: Starwood and Toll Brothers developed the Pierhouse at Brooklyn Bridge Park.
• 2013, Starwood Global Opportunity Fund IX, in partnership with Vencom, bought 7 retail properties from Kooperativa Förbundet of Sweden for 3.9 billion Swedish kronor ($593.3 million)
  • 2016-17: Starwood sold the properties.
• 2013: Starwood acquired De Vere Group of the UK for GB£232 million.
• 2013: Starwood acquired Four-Pillars Hotels in the UK for GB£90 million
• 2014: Starwood acquired Principal Hayley Group of the UK for for GB£360 million.
• 2013: Starwood acquired Waypoint Real Estate Group which hoped to build a huge portfolio of single family homes. The merged firm became Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust.
• 2013: Starwood acquired acquired LNR Property LLC from Cerberus for $1.05 billion.²
• 2014: Starwood spun off Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust as a separate REIT on the NYSE with the symbol SWAY.
• 2014: Starwood bought 7 upscale malls from Taubman Centers in a $1.4 billion.
• 2015: Marriott announced its acquisition of Starwood Hotels.
• 2016: Starwood acquired 23,262 apartments from Equity Residential for $5.365 billion.
• 2017: Starwood bought a 30% stake in YOTEL for $250 million.

profile page

References:

1. Wikipedia - Starwood Capital (Drawn 11/13/2019)
2. Encyclopedia.com - Starwood Hotels (Drawn 11/13/2019)
3. Funding Universe - Starwood Hotels (Drawn 11/13/2019)
4. Reuters - Starwood to Buy LNR (Drawn 11/13/2019)
5. Hospitality.net Starwood Acquires Le Meridien (Drawn 11/13/2019)
6. Business Wire - Starwood Acquires Le Meridien (Drawn 11/13/2019)
7. Wikipedia - Le Meridien (Drawn 11/13/2019)
8. Marriott Press Release Announcing Starwood Acquisition (Drawn 11/13/2019)

Prev ~ ~ Index ~ ~ Next