| New York, NY - November 25, 1998 - As part of an overall
recapitalization strategy, Sonnenblick-Goldman Company advised City Hotels,
S.A. in the $84,000,000 sale of six hotels in Belgium and the Netherlands.
The properties were acquired by a joint venture between Servico Inc., a
hotel management company, and investment bank Lehman Bothers Holdings.
As part of the joint-venture, Servico will manage the properties.
Victor Hasson, Chairman of City Hotels S. A., commented,
" We have held these assets for many years, and they have generated strong
returns for the Company. The timing was right to divest these assets
and to redeploy capital focusing on building a diversified portfolio
of hotels in both Europe and the U.S."
The hotels that were sold are: Galaxy Hotel - Amsterdam, The Netherlands
(281 rooms); Hotel Arenberg - Brussels, Belgium (155 rooms); Hotel
Diplomat - Brussels, Belgium (68 rooms); Hotel Palace Crown Plaza - Brussels,
Belgium (342 rooms); Royal Astor Hotel - Ostende, Belgium (95 rooms); and
Tulip Inn Delta - Brussels, Belgium (246 rooms).
Subsequent to the sale, City Hotels continues to own and operate nine
hotels in the U.S., which they operate out of their U.S. offices in Bethesda,
MD. City Hotels has built their U.S. portfolio since 1991 by capitalizing
on market opportunities. In recent years, City Hotels has been acquiring
under performing properties in strong markets with barriers to entry and
repositioning the properties by infusing substantial capital and instituting
proven management and marketing procedures.
"City Hotels is a unique company in that they can quickly respond to
market opportunities in both the U.S. and Europe. They are a bi-continental,
fully integrated company with a strong track record in acquisitions, development,
redevelopment and management. We believe that the current market
cycle will present City Hotels with many investment opportunities" noted
Arthur Adler, Managing Director of Sonnenblick-Goldman Company's Lodging
and Leisure Group. City Hotels will continue their strategy of exploiting
market opportunities, and will focus on building a more diversified portfolio
throughout Europe leveraging off of their 25 years of European operating
and acquisitions experience. In addition, the Company will
continue to seek opportunities in the U.S. to invest in hotels in which
the Company can add value and that will generate superior returns.
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Sonnenblick-Goldman Company is the nation's leading independent real estate
investment banking firm. Founded in 1893 to serve the financing needs
of the real estate industry, Sonnenblick-Goldman Company provides a full
range of real estate financial services including debt and equity placements,
sale/lease-backs, joint ventures, investment sales, and other real estate
advisory services. Headquartered in New York, Sonnenblick-Goldman
Company maintains regional offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami,
Washington, D.C., and Denver. City Hotels, S.A. is a fully integrated,
publicly traded hotel owner and operator, traded on the Brussels stock
exchange, which specializes in the acquisition, development, rehabilitation
and management of hotel properties. The Company's focus is on the
opportunistic acquisition and development of hotels in which it can employ
its management and development strengths to increase the underlying value
of the real estate. The Company was founded in 1975 and is headquartered
in Brussels, Belgium, with its U.S. operations based in Bethesda, Maryland. |