PARSIPPANY, N.J.--Prudential Real Estate Investors, in a new joint venture with Lodging Capital Partners, has acquired the Austin Four Seasons, a 291-room luxury hotel located in downtown Austin, Texas. PREI, acting on behalf of institutional investors in its core real estate fund, is the real estate investment management and advisory business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU).

The nine-story hotel contains 291 guest rooms, including 28 suites. Rooms contain high-end classical furnishings, with select rooms offering balconies or patios with lake views. Originally built in 1987, it features a lakeside spa and recreational area, pool, lounge and fitness center. TRIO, a steakhouse featuring a contemporary Texas grill menu, is also on site.

“The high quality of the Austin Four Seasons combined with its prime location downtown is precisely why it is a good fit with our core property strategy,” said Catherine Marcus, a managing director and portfolio manager for PREI. “We believe that our joint venture with such an experienced organization as Lodging Capital Partners combined with the strength of this property amid the current market environment will provide a stable cash return over the long-term for our investors,” Marcus added.

Located at 98 San Jacinto Boulevard between Cesar Chavez Street and Lady Bird Lake, the hotel is easily accessible via I-35 and is about 20 minutes from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. One block away is the Austin Convention Center, a state-of-the-art facility. Also nearby are the State Capital and the University of Texas at Austin campus.

In addition to the location, the hotel benefits from Austin’s tech-centric economy, home to more than 25 major corporations including Dell, IBM and Apple. Combined, those three firms account for more than 55,000 jobs. Facebook also recently opened its first U.S. office outside of California in Austin.

Lodging Capital Partners, LLC was formed in 2005 and has become a premier owner and asset manager of upper-upscale and luxury hotels. Since formation, LCP has invested in a portfolio with a valuation of over $1.5 billion. Asset purchases include: the Fairmont Orchid in Mauna Lani, the Drake Hotel in Chicago, the Hilton Westchester, the Four Seasons Austin, the Le Meridien Chicago and the Snake River Lodge & Spa in Jackson Hole, among others. Members of LCP have combined 100 years of experience in hotel valuation, acquisitions, financing, asset management and dispositions. The team has purchased over $5.0 billion of properties, implemented over $7.0 billion of financings, raised over $2.5 billion of public and private equity and sold $1.0 billion worth of assets, all of which related to full-service hotels and resorts. For more information please visit www.lodgingcapital.com.

PREI is a leader in the global real estate investment management business, offering a broad range of investment vehicles that invest in private and public market opportunities in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and Latin America. Headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., PREI has other offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Lisbon, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Munich, Paris, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo; as well as representatives in Milan and Zurich. As of September 30, 2011, PREI managed approximately $48.6 billion in gross real estate assets ($30.3 billion net) on behalf of more than 490 clients worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.prei.com.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with approximately $871 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2011, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential’s diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management. In the U.S., Prudential’s iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit http://www.news.prudential.com/