Columbia Sussex Corporation Acquires 14 Full-Service Hotels from Wyndham International, Inc. for $1.4 Billion

Business Wire, Oct 6, 2005

FORT MITCHELL, Ky. -- Columbia Sussex Corporation announced today that it has completed the acquisition of 14 full-service hotels from Wyndham International, Inc, an affiliate of The Blackstone Group, for $1.4 billion. The hotels acquired by Columbia Sussex contain over 5,800 rooms and are located primarily in large urban markets, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, New Orleans, Philadelphia, San Diego, Tampa, Toronto and Washington D.C.

The acquired properties represent approximately one-half of Wyndham's owned real estate. The fifteen remaining Wyndham owned assets were recently re-branded to become part of LXR Luxury Resorts and continue to be owned by affiliates of Blackstone.

Banc of America Securities acted as financial advisor to Columbia Sussex in connection with this transaction. Katz, Teller, Brant & Hild acted as legal advisor to Columbia Sussex. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acted as legal advisor to Wyndham and Blackstone. Bear Stearns Commercial Mortgage, Inc. and Bank of America, N.A. provided $1.1 billion of financing.

About Columbia Sussex

Columbia Sussex Corporation is a private hotel owner and operator based in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. The company is 100% owned by William J. Yung and his family, and is one of the largest privately held hotel companies in the country. It is the largest franchisee of full-service Marriott hotels. Upon the completion of this transaction, Columbia Sussex will own over 70 full-service hotels located throughout the United States.

About The Blackstone Group

The Blackstone Group, a global investment and advisory firm with offices in New York, Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, London, Hamburg, Mumbai, and Paris, was founded in 1985. Blackstone's Real Estate Group has raised five funds representing approximately $6 billion in total equity. The group has completed over 130 separate investments, representing more than 1,400 individual assets, in hotels, offices and other commercial properties with a total transaction value of approximately $22 billion. In addition to real estate, The Blackstone Group's core businesses include Private Equity Investing, Corporate Debt Investing, Marketable Alternative Investments, Corporate Advisory, and Restructuring and Reorganization Advisory. www.blackstone.com