Starwood Capital Group Affiliate Sells Four Iconic Luxury Hotels in France to Constellation Hotels Holdings Ltd.

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

France—Starwood Capital Group has recently announced that its Groupe Du Louvre affiliate has completed the sale of four iconic luxury hotels in France. The four properties had been acquired by the private investment firm as part of the 2005 $3.2 billion acquisition of Societe Du Louvre, which included the second largest hotel network in Europe, now called Louvre Hotels Group, and Groupe Taittinger, owner of champagne producer Taittinger CCVC, among other holdings.

The four properties—Concorde Lafayette, Hotel du Louvre, Martinez and Palais de la Mediterranee—were sold by Groupe Du Louvre to Constellation Hotels Holdings Ltd. While the terms of the transaction were not disclosed, it has been announced that Hyatt Hotels Corporation will manage the assets from now on.

Barry Sternlicht, chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group, said: “Completing the sale of a majority of our luxury hotel assets marks an important milestone in the ongoing monetization of the GDL portfolio.” He continued by saying: “We have sold more than $3 billion in assets since closing, and will continue to maximize the value of our remaining assets to generate attractive returns for our investor partners. In the coming years, we expect to continue our expansion and renovation of our Louvre Hotels Group portfolio and to support the growth of Baccarat into new geographies, with a focus on Asia, expanding its presence in the hotel and residential arena.”

Through the sale of these four hotels and earlier divestitures of Taittinger CCVC, Annick Goutal and several other hotel properties the group has generated around $3 billion in total proceeds. Louvre Hotels Group, still owned by Starwood Capital Group, has grown from 805 hotels to over 1,090 hotels to date, in 39 countries, under its four brands: Premiere Classe, Campanile, Kyriad and Golden Tulip.