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BETHESDA, MD-DiamondRock Hospitality Co. filed a registration statement with the SEC for the sale of 14 million shares of company common stock in a public offering. In its SEC filing, DiamondRock reports that it expects to see net proceeds of about $177.7 million. In the event that the underwriters' over-allotment option is exercised, the total could be $204.5 million.

As reported by GlobeSt.com yesterday DiamondRock inked a purchase agreement to acquire the 1,192-room Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile for $295 million, plus approximately $11 million of net consideration in the form of an assumed property tax liability and other adjustments including the assumption of $220 million of floating-rate debt. It works out to approximately $257,000 per room.

DiamondRock intends to refinance the existing floating-rate loan with a fixed-rate loan issued by Wachovia Bank, National Association, an affiliate of Wachovia Capital Markets LLC, one of the underwriters in this offering. The principal amount is expected to be between $170 million and $220 million. The new loan will be a limited recourse loan secured by a mortgage on the Chicago Marriott. The company will finance the remainder of the purchase price through a portion of the net proceeds from this offering and expects to borrow up to $100 million through a short-term floating-rate loan arranged by Wachovia Bank, National Association, which will be repaid with a portion of the net proceeds of this offering.