Strategic Hotel Capital Buys 261-Room Ritz-Carlton

HALF MOON BAY, CA-Strategic Hotel Capital Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire the 261-room Ritz-Carlton here for $124.4 million. The Chicago-based publicly traded hotel company says the resort’s Earnings EBITDA is forecasted to be approximately $8.1 million in 2004 and $10.4 million in 2005. The sale is expected to close in the third quarter. The purchase is expected to be funded with a mortgage loan, the company’s line of credit and cash, according to Strategic Hotel Capital.The seller is a client advised by Morgan Stanley Real Estate, according to Strategic Hotel Capital. According to ritzcarlton.com, the current owner of the hotel is its developer, a joint venture of Vestar-Athens, a partnership of Vestar Development and The Athens Group of Phoenix, and Yarmouth Capital Partners II, a real estate investment fund managed by Lend Lease Real Estate Investments Inc. of Atlanta.The hotel opened in the summer of 2001 as the first new resort on the Northern California coast in more than a decade. Amenities include a 16,000-sf spa and 17,000 sf of indoor meeting space with additional outdoor meeting areas. Other amenities include a two restaurants, two fitness centers, an indoor pool, tennis courts and access to two adjacent golf courses.Strategic Hotel Capital has ownership interests in 14 properties with an aggregate of 5,931 rooms. The company went public on June 24, offering 17.6 million shares at $14 per share. At close of markets Monday, the company’s share price stood at $15, off $0.52 on the day.