Ashford Hospitality Announces $103 Million of Asset Sales
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Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE: AHT):
Highlights: Proceeds used to reduce debt Completes sale of the 17th
asset in Phase 1 of capital recycling Four assets in Phase II are now sold or under firm contract Sales price equates to $79,000 per key and 7.3% trailing 12-month
NOI cap rate
Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE: AHT) today announced that it has
completed the sale of three hotels for $35.0 million and has three
additional hotels under contract for a total of $68.5 million that are
expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2007. The pricing equates to
a 7.3% trailing 12-month NOI cap rate.
The Company has now sold $157.3 million of the estimated $170 million of
Phase 1 assets, with a projected net gain of $35.2 million. Of the 16
hotels and two office buildings included in Phase 1, only one hotel and
one office building remain to be sold.
The Hampton Inn in Horse Cave, Kentucky and the Doubletree Guest Suites –
Dayton/Miamisburg in Dayton, Ohio, both of which were Phase I assets,
were sold in the third quarter. Among the Phase II assets, the Hilton
Birmingham Perimeter Park in Birmingham, Alabama, was sold in the fourth
quarter of 2007. The Residence Inn Atlanta Perimeter West in Atlanta,
Georgia, the Residence Inn Torrance in Torrance, California, and the
Residence Inn Kansas City in Kansas City, Missouri are all under firm
contract.
Monty J. Bennett, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ashford,
commented, "Capital recycling and internally generated growth are top
priorities for us as we continue to enhance our balance sheet and
concentrate the portfolio in strong, growing metropolitan and coastal
markets."
Ashford Hospitality Trust is a self-administered real estate investment
trust focused on investing in the hospitality industry across all
segments and at all levels of the capital structure, including direct
hotel investments, first mortgages, mezzanine loans and sale-leaseback
transactions. Additional information can be found on the Company's web
site at www.ahtreit.com.
Certain statements and assumptions in this press release contain or
are based upon "forward-looking" information and are being made pursuant
to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject
to risks and uncertainties. When we use the words "will likely
result," "may," "anticipate," "estimate," "should," "expect," "believe,"
"intend," or similar expressions, we intend to identify forward-looking
statements. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, the timing for closing, the impact of the transaction on our
business and future financial condition, our business and investment
strategy, our understanding of our competition and current market trends
and opportunities and projected capital expenditures. Such
statements are subject to numerous assumptions and uncertainties, many
of which are outside Ashford's control. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown
risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ
materially from those anticipated, including, without limitation: general
volatility of the capital markets and the market price of our common
stock; changes in our business or investment strategy; availability,
terms and deployment of capital; availability of qualified personnel;
changes in our industry and the market in which we operate, interest
rates or the general economy; and the degree and nature of our
competition. These and other risk factors are more fully
discussed in Ashford's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. EBITDA is defined as net income before interest,
taxes, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA yield is defined as
trailing twelve month EBITDA divided by the purchase price. A
capitalization rate is determined by dividing the property's annual net
operating income by the purchase price. Net operating income is
the property's funds from operations minus a capital expense reserve of
either 4% or 5% of gross revenues. Funds from operations ("FFO"),
as defined by the White Paper on FFO approved by the Board of Governors
of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts ("NAREIT")
in April 2002, represents net income (loss) computed in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), excluding gains (or
losses) from sales or properties and extraordinary items as defined by
GAAP, plus depreciation and amortization of real estate assets, and net
of adjustments for the portion of these items related to unconsolidated
entities and joint ventures. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are
only made as of the date of this press release. Investors should
not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We
are not obligated to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or
circumstances, changes in expectations or otherwise.