Jun. 6--Now that Boca Resorts has found a buyer for its Florida Panthers hockey team, what does the future hold for the Wayne Huizenga-led company? 

Analysts believe that Boca Resorts will sell off its hotel properties to increase its value to shareholders. The company's stock trades at a price well below the value of its assets. 

With the sale of its hockey team, Boca Resorts becomes solely a hotel company, making it more attractive to other hotel companies. Boca Resorts also sheds a money-losing part of its operation. 

"I think the sale of the Panthers certainly makes it more likely something would happen with the rest of the company," said Paul D. Puryear, an analyst with Raymond James & Associates. "This takes them a step further in making them a viable takeover target." 

There's speculation that Boca Resorts already has had sale discussions with some major hotel companies that covet its five hotel properties, which include the Boca Raton Resort & Club, and the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Resorts and Marina and the Radisson Bahia Mar Beach Resort and Yachting Center in Fort Lauderdale. 

Among the hotel companies that likely have a strong interest, according to a person familiar with Boca Resorts, are Canadian Pacific, Crescent Real Estate Equities, and MeriStar Hospitality Corp., which is merging with FelCor Lodging Trust. Others that may take a look include Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Host Marriott and Marriott International. 

"These are the largest publicly held hotel companies out there," said Guy Trusty, president of Lodging & Hospitality Realty in Miami. "So they're among the very few players that have the capacity to make an acquisition of this size." 

Representatives for Canadian Pacific, MeriStar and Starwood each said the companies have a policy not to comment on speculation or possible deals. Crescent, a real estate investment trust that owns Miami Center, has no current interest in acquiring Boca Resorts, a spokeswoman said. Host Marriott and Marriott International couldn't be reached for comment. 

Richard C. Rochon, vice chairman of Boca Resorts, said a sale would be possibility but wouldn't necessarily be a likelihood. He said the company could make acquisitions of its own. 

"We're a stronger company than we were yesterday, because we have a lot more capacity to do deals," Rochon said. "We're actually in extremely good shape now that hockey is gone." 

Any sale of Boca Resorts' assets likely would be in bulk, rather than piecemeal, the person familiar with the company said. 

Raymond James' Puryear speculated that the company would would sell for about $19 a share, or close to $775 million. Boca Resorts' shares closed Tuesday at $13.60, up 30 cents. 

For the nine months ended March 31, Boca Resorts reported its entertainment and sports business -- which includes the Panthers -- generated $51.5 million in revenue, or 16 percent its total revenue. However, entertainment and sports generated costs of $53.7 million, creating a $2.2 million loss for the period. 

Puryear said that based on Boca Resorts' small size and limited assets, it's hard to paint an attractive and compelling picture for future earnings growth for institutional investors. 

A portfolio manager looking to deploy investments in the hotel industry likely would find better opportunities with larger hotel companies that are more liquid, more diversified and not controlled by a single individual, the person familiar with the company said. 

Huizenga owns 18 percent of Boca Resorts' shares and controls 99 percent of voting power. 

Working against a sale, though, is the choppy market for hotel assets. With a weakening economy, hotel-company stocks aren't regarded as highly. 

"It's a slow market for sales right now," Trusty said. "The lending policy of most lenders has tightened up considerably, even for the best deals." 

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