Royal Host Sells Grand Okanagan Resort for $131 Million (Canada)
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Royal Host Sells Grand Okanagan Resort for $131 Million (Canada)
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Category: North America & West Indies / Carribean islands - Canada
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2008-07-29
Royal Host Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:RYL.UN) (TSX:RYL.DB.A) (TSX:RYL.DB.B) (TSX:RYL.DB.C) (TSX:RYL.DB.D) ("Royal Host") today announced that it has finalized an agreement to sell the Grand Okanagan Lakefront Resort and Conference Centre (the "Grand") in Kelowna, British Columbia for $131 million, representing a gain of approximately $78 million. All conditions to the agreement have been satisfied and the sale is scheduled to close on or before August 14, 2008.
"This transaction marks a significant achievement in Royal Host's opportunistic strategy of creating and realizing value for our Unitholders. Management, together with our board, evaluated the strategic and financial merits of this asset in the context of our portfolio compared to other investment opportunities that are currently available to Royal Host and determined that this sale is in the best interest of our Unitholders," said Patrick Lambie, Executive Vice President of Royal Host. "The substantial gain generated on this sale, along with our unique approach to deploying capital, will allow us to capitalize on innovative opportunities in the hospitality and service sectors," he added.
Cash proceeds to the Trust amount to $85 million, or approximately $4 per unit, net of Royal Host's commitment to complete the current casino expansion at the Grand and the purchaser's assumption of a $35 million mortgage.
Royal Host is a uniquely diversified hospitality trust that delivers Unitholder value through hotel ownership, investment, management and franchising. Royal Host's portfolio of 31 Canadian hotels operates under a variety of recognizable brands as well as a number of unbranded properties. The Trust's hotel portfolio is further enhanced by a stable franchising business, a successful hotel management operation, and a portfolio of publicly-traded securities from within the hospitality and service sectors.
Royal Host trust units and convertible debentures are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbols "RYL.UN", "RYL.DB.A", "RYL.DB.B", "RYL.DB.C" and "RYL.DB.D", respectively.
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