ANNAPOLIS, Maryland—Thayer Lodging Group’s hotel acquisition hunt is shifting into gear.
The company on Tuesday announced it is under contract to purchase the 304-room Hotel Palomar Atlanta Midtown from private investment group WP Partners. The agreement is expected to be consummated within the month.
The price of the deal was not disclosed. Property records with the Fulton County Board of Assessors in Georgia show WP Fee Owner LP acquired the asset for US$8,792,325 on 9 August 2007.
The Hotel Palomar deal followed on the heels of Thayer’s acquisition of the JW Marriott San Francisco for US$96 million, or approximately US$271,955 per key. The JW Marriott transaction marked Thayer’s first West Coast investment.
Investment criteria
Though it still has capital available, Jin Y. Lee, Thayer’s managing director and CIO, last week said the investment company is not necessarily looking to go on a spend-a-thon.
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| The deal for the JW Marriott San Francisco for approximately US$271,955 per key marks Thayer’s first West Coast investment. |
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“We’re still fairly choosy,” he said. “We need to find that right kind of value-add story.”
Lee on Wednesday declined to comment on the Hotel Palomar deal until it is finalized.
The hotels that meet Thayer’s investment criteria are “first-class,” full-service and luxury hotels and resorts, Lee said. Thayer is looking predominantly in the top 15-20 United States metropolitan areas.
During an interview prior to the acquisition in Atlanta, Lee said the deals were financed partly by Thayer’s US$300-million investment fund—it’s fifth.
“We still have capital available after that,” Lee said in reference to the pending Hotel Palomar deal.
The company, which has 16 hotels in its portfolio, will still have capital available from the fund to do more deals, he said. There are “several” potential acquisitions the company is considering.
In addition to the JW Marriott and Hotel Palomar acquisitions, Thayer used capital from the fund in its joint venture deal to take private Interstate Hotels & Resorts.
Thayer also used the fund to help finance its buy of the 338-room Fairview Park Marriott in Virginia in 2010. Property records in Fairfax County, Virginia, indicate Thayer paid US$93 million in acquiring the property from JER Fairview Hotel LLC. JER bought the property from Marriott Diversified in 2007 for US$108.5 million.
