Private real estate giant The Lightstone Group has reached an agreement to acquire Extended Stay Hotels for $8 billion from the Blackstone Group, the company announced today.
The transaction, expected to close in about two months, would give Lightstone control of the largest midprice extended stay portfolio in the United States. Extended Stay Hotels operates five brands—Extended Stay Deluxe, Extended Stay America, Homestead Studio Suites, StudioPlus and Crossland—that comprise 683 properties and 76,000 rooms in the United States and Canada.
Private equity firm Blackstone acquired Extended Stay Hotels a little more than three years ago when it was comprised of three brands and 432 properties
(BTNonline, March 8, 2004).
"This transaction is consistent with our strategy of acquiring companies with outstanding brand identity and bringing the necessary resources to unlock long term values," Lightstone CEO David Lichtenstein said in a prepared statement.
Lakewood, N.J.-based Lightstone is one of the largest privately held real estate companies in the United States, owning more than 18,000 residential units and about 30 million square feet of office space.