PHILADELPHIA, Pa., May 5, 2005�Hersha Hospitality Trust (AMEX: HT),
a real estate investment trust (REIT) and owner of nationally franchised,
upscale and mid-scale hotels, today announced that it has signed definitive
agreements to acquire a five-hotel portfolio in the Philadelphia and Wilmington
metropolitan region for $48.9 million in cash. The hotel REIT said
the purchase consists of a Marriott Courtyard, 3 Holiday Inn Expresses,
and an independently branded hotel. This acquisition is scheduled
to close this summer and will add 480 rooms to Hersha�s portfolio.
�We believe these hotels will be strong performers for our growing portfolio
of quality assets in metropolitan markets in the northeast and anchors
for our metropolitan Philadelphia cluster,� said Jay H. Shah, Hersha�s
president and chief operating officer. �The hotels have recently
undergone major repositioning and re-branding, and should benefit further
from the implementation of our proprietary management and marketing systems.
We are encouraged by the current environment with its opportunities for
on-strategy, portfolio transactions.
�These are quality assets � all concrete and plank construction - in
great locations within each sub-market and we are purchasing these hotels
below replacement value,� Shah noted. �Additionally, we will consummate
these transactions with attractively priced debt without raising any additional
equity.�
.
Mcintosh Inn of Wilmington
300 Rocky Run Parkway
Wilmington, Delaware
.
The hotels to be acquired include:
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The 155-suite Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites King of Prussia,
located at 260 N. Gulph Road in King of Prussia, Pa. The hotel enjoys
a premiere location directly across from the King of Prussia Mall, the
largest mall on the East Coast with 22 million visitors annually.
Additionally, it is surrounded by 16 million square feet of office space
including Merck Pharmaceuticals, Prudential Insurance, Aetna, and Lockheed
Martin. The hotel is within two miles of the Valley Forge historical
sites and situated at the nexus of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Rte. 202,
and the Schuylkill Expressway.
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The 88-room Holiday Inn Express Oxford Valley, located at 3101 W.
Cabot Blvd., in Bucks County. The hotel is less than one mile from
both Sesame Place and the Oxford Valley Mall and offers easy access to
both the Pennsylvania Turnpike and US 1. Lower Bucks County offers
more than 4 million square feet of office.
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The 88-room Holiday Inn Express of Frazer-Malvern, located at 1
Morehall Road in Frazer, Pa. Located off Routes 29 and 30 in the
Route 202 business corridor, the hotel is adjacent to Wyeth Pharmaceuticals,
within one mile of the Vanguard Group of Funds, and surrounded by 8 million
square feet of office space. The property includes a restaurant pad
site and additional land to develop a hotel, restaurant, or office building.
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The 78-room Courtyard by Marriott Wilmington, Delaware, located
at 320 Rocky Run Parkway. The hotel enjoys a virtually irreplaceable
location nestled among over 5 million square feet of class A office space;
major tenants include AstraZeneca, DuPont, Cigna, and MBNA. The property
is conveniently located off Route 202 and 1-95 and is close to the Brandywine
region�s rich cultural and leisure attractions.
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The 71-room independently branded hotel (Mcintosh Inn of Wilmington)
located at 300 Rocky Run Parkway adjacent to the Courtyard. This
hotel may be re-branded to a premium national brand.
Hersha Hospitality Trust is a self-advised real estate investment trust
that owns mid-scale and upscale hotels in the eastern United States with
strong, national franchise affiliations. The company focuses on acquisition
and joint venture opportunities in primary and secondary markets near major
metropolitan markets.
Certain matters within this press release are discussed using forward-looking
language as specified in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, and, as such, may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties
and other factors that may cause the actual results or performance to differ
from those projected in the forward-looking statement.
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