Word: starwood
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...market, the chains "don't really have a choice," says Chekitan Dev, marketing professor at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. "For all practical purposes, the traditional hotel is obsolete. There's too much wasted space, it doesn't look inviting, and there's an erosion of brand loyalty." Starwood Hotels & Resorts chairman Barry Sternlicht tried in vain to lure Schrager to his camp. The company, which owns the Westin and Sheraton chains, is currently busy rolling out the self-consciously hip W line of hotels in 16 cities, including Seattle, Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles. Hyatt is opening more...
Remember the Greek mythological figure Icarus who flew too close to the sun on wings of wax? The modern-day version is Barry Sternlicht, the highflying CEO of Starwood Lodging Trust, which is in a vicious proxy contest this week with Hilton Hotels for control of ITT Corp. By topping Hilton's offer with a $10.2 billion bid for ITT, Sternlicht has thrust himself into what had been a very personal battle between Hilton CEO Stephen Bollenbach and ITT boss Rand Araskog--and thus into the public spotlight. Sternlicht is a Wall Street darling. His stock, including dividends, has soared...
...Sternlicht has built an empire on a tax loophole, or that his stock would completely deflate. He's a respected hotel owner-operator who has already cut a $1.6 billion deal for Westin Hotels and has franchise agreements with major chains, including Hilton. It's not even clear that Starwood's structure gives him an unfair edge. Bollenbach says it does; Sternlicht says it doesn't. Ken Kies, chief of staff for the congressional Joint Taxation Committee, is concerned enough to be looking, but he says chances of a change anytime soon "are about zero...
That's why investors believe in the unusual tax structure. How else to explain Starwood's unnatural premium in the market? Its shares trade at 64 times recent earnings--nearly triple the multiple of hotel and casino giant ITT. Starwood is growing faster. That helps. But the tax setup accounts for a good bit of the premium, and that's critical, because if the setup is ever struck down or found to be of little value, some of the premium would evaporate. Just what is this magical tax structure? Starwood is a Real Estate Investment Trust that owns hotels...
...chief concern, as it relates to the battle over ITT, is that the structure seems to generate so much potential tax and other savings that Starwood can afford to outbid all comers. When Sternlicht was snapping up smaller companies, heavyweights like Bollenbach took note but didn't fuss. Now that Sternlicht is going after bigger quarry, he's on Bollenbach's radar, and the fuss has just begun. The Hilton boss has been lobbying against the paired-share structure. By opting to go after a big name like ITT, Sternlicht has created a personal Catch-22. If the scrutiny...