IRVING, Texas—FelCor Lodging Trust is seeing a lot of demand for the properties it has on the market, officials said during the company’s first-quarter conference call Tuesday.
The real-estate investment trust began restructuring its portfolio in 2006 with the sale of 45 hotels. The REIT is marketing for sale 39 hotels during in this second phase, which was delayed because of the recent recession. FelCor last month said it had six properties, comprising 1,527 rooms, under contract to be sold for $103 million.
During the conference call with analysts, FelCor President and CEO Richard A. Smith said the company is seeing strong interest from potential buyers in 16 hotels it has on the market. Smith said the company also received unsolicited bids for two hotels it is planning to put on the market, as well.
If all 18 hotels sell, and FelCor officials are strongly optimistic the deals will happen, they would bring in $425 million in proceeds that would be used to pay down debt.
“We have offers on all of the hotels,” Smith said. FelCor owns interests in 76 properties under such flags as Sheraton, Embassy Suites Hotels, Marriott and DoubleTree by Hilton.
The company is so confident in its ability to sell the properties that it included the sales in its 2012 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization guidance. The company’s previous guidance outlook did not include any asset sales. Andrew J. Welch, FelCor’s executive VP and CFO, said the loosening up of the lending market created a market conducive for hotel sales as buyers are increasingly able to find the financing they need.
Still, despite the big appetite from possible buyers, Smith said the projected sales price for the assets hasn’t increased from original expectations.
“The pricing really hasn’t adjusted,” he said. “It’s not like we have outlier bids driving up the pricing. The pricing is about where we expected.”
