Word: sternlicht
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...next five years will be one of the most attractive real estate investment periods in the past 50 years," says Starwood Property Trust Inc. (STWD), an affiliate of closely-held Starwood Capital Group, in its July 29 IPO filing. The company, which is headed by real estate mogul Barry Sternlicht and went public last week, believes real estate became "significantly overpriced" in the go-go years of the past decade, and that "a significant price correction" is under...
...American Home Mortgage Investment Corp., file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection over the past couple of years, and others, such as Arbor Realty Trust and Gramercy Capital, struggling to stay afloat. Even Starwood's newest offering could stir concerns if investors check out the sour performance of one of Sternlicht's previous specialty finance companies, iStar Financial...
...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 "For all practical purposes, the traditional hotel is obsolete.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 of its smaller, luxury Park...
That's not to say 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...
...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...