Ashford Hospitality Closes $19.7 Million Refinancing of Hilton El Conquistador Hotel
January 04 2010 - 9:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
DALLAS, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ashford Hospitality Trust,
Inc. (NYSE:AHT) today announced the refinancing of its $19.74
million loan secured by the Hilton El Conquistador Hotel and
Country Club in Tucson, Arizona on December 29, 2009. The loan was
set to mature in June 2011. The new non-recourse financing with
MetLife for the same amount bears interest at the greater of 5.5%
or LIBOR plus 350 basis points and is interest only for a term of
five years. The Company's average current interest rate on its
total indebtedness, giving credit to the interest rate swap and
flooridors, is 2.98%. As of September 30, 2009, the Company had
$197.9 million of unrestricted cash available. Monty Bennett, Chief
Executive Officer of Ashford, noted, "This financing brings us to a
total of $285 million in new loans and/or restructures completed in
2009. Having already eliminated our 2010 non-extendable loan
maturities, we continue to proactively address our upcoming 2011
maturities." Ashford Hospitality Trust is a self-administered real
estate investment trust focused on investing in the hospitality
industry across all segments and at all levels of the capital
structure, including direct hotel investments, second mortgages,
mezzanine loans and sale-leaseback transactions. Additional
information can be found on the Company's web site at
http://www.ahtreit.com/. Certain statements and assumptions in this
press release contain or are based upon "forward-looking"
information and are being made pursuant to the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties. When we use the words "will likely result," "may,"
"anticipate," "estimate," "should," "expect," "believe," "intend,"
or similar expressions, we intend to identify forward-looking
statements. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, the timing for closing, the impact of the transaction
on our business and future financial condition, our business and
investment strategy, our understanding of our competition and
current market trends and opportunities and projected capital
expenditures. Such statements are subject to numerous assumptions
and uncertainties, many of which are outside Ashford's control.
These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown
risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ
materially from those anticipated, including, without limitation:
general volatility of the capital markets and the market price of
our common stock; changes in our business or investment strategy;
availability, terms and deployment of capital; availability of
qualified personnel; changes in our industry and the market in
which we operate, interest rates or the general economy; and the
degree and nature of our competition. These and other risk factors
are more fully discussed in Ashford's filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. EBITDA is defined as net income before
interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA yield is
defined as trailing twelve month EBITDA divided by the purchase
price. A capitalization rate is determined by dividing the
property's annual net operating income by the purchase price. Net
operating income is the property's funds from operations minus a
capital expense reserve of either 4% or 5% of gross revenues. Funds
from operations ("FFO"), as defined by the White Paper on FFO
approved by the Board of Governors of the National Association of
Real Estate Investment Trusts ("NAREIT") in April 2002, represents
net income (loss) computed in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles ("GAAP"), excluding gains (or losses) from
sales or properties and extraordinary items as defined by GAAP,
plus depreciation and amortization of real estate assets, and net
of adjustments for the portion of these items related to
unconsolidated entities and joint ventures. The forward-looking
statements included in this press release are only made as of the
date of this press release. Investors should not place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements. We are not obligated
to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or
circumstances, changes in expectations or otherwise. DATASOURCE:
Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. CONTACT: David Kimichik, Chief
Financial Officer, +1-972-490-9600; or Tripp Sullivan of Corporate
Communications, Inc., +1-615-324-7318 Web Site:
http://www.ahtreit.com/
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