Skift Take
Blackstone and Starwood Capital's extra $180 million sweetens the pot for the planned Extended Stay America takeover, but this is no done deal. There is still a very loud opposing group of shareholders that could sway the vote this week.
An extra $1 per share offer in Blackstone and Starwood Capital’s planned Extended Stay America acquisition may not completely win over shareholders, but it should be enough to get the job done.
The two investment firms upped their bid last week in the quest to jointly take over the largest extended-stay hotel brand in the U.S. Shareholders convene Tuesday on whether to approve the deal, and signs are pointing to this deal moving forward. A final vote is scheduled for Friday.
Two directors of Extended Stay’s ESH Hospitality real estate trust board who criticized the initial Blackstone-Starwood bid as too low are now backing the move. Advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services, which issued a scathing report against the deal late last month, changed its tune last week.
The new offer adds $180 million to the initial roughly $6 billion offer, according to Rob Ballew, Extended Stay’s vice president of finance and investor relations, via email.
“In addition to the unanimous support of our boards, we are also pleased to note that the transaction is now supported by a number of our large shareholders who had previously expressed concerns,” Extended Stay America CEO Bruce Haase said in a statement.
Zimmer Partners, which owns shy of 5 percent of Extended Stay America, dropped its opposition to the deal and plans to vote in favor of the deal, according to sources close to the vote.
Not Out of the Woods: At one point, opposition mounted from leading shareholder groups like family wealth fund Tarsadia Capital, which has a nearly 4 percent stake in the company. Other opposing shareholders included private equity firm Hawk Ridge Capital, which has about a 2 percent stake, as well as SouthernSun Asset Management LLC, River Road Asset Management, and Cooke & Bieler LP.
These organizations felt the timing of the deal was poor and initial offer too low
