Hotel Investors OKs Sale of 27 Properties

Hotel Investors Trust, a Woodland Hills real estate investment trust, and Hotel Investors Corp. of San Diego said they formally agreed to their previously announced sales of 27 hotels to EIE International Corp. of Japan and its affiliate, Park Plaza Inc., for $152.2 million.

Hotel Investors Trust invests in hotels and Hotel Investors Corp. manages them. Shares of the two companies are paired and trade together on the New York Stock Exchange, and their financial results are reported together.

Hotel Investors said $4 million has been deposited in escrow for the sale of the hotels. Completion of the sale, however, is subject to governmental clearances and approval by Hotel Investors shareholders.

Proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce debt, Hotel Investors said.

Separately, a group led by Leonard M. Ross raised its stake in Hotel Investors to 6.6%, or 804,300 shares, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Ross purchased 228,100 Hotel Investors shares at between $3.375 and $5.50 each between Feb. 2 and May 4, the filing said.