Sun Will Buy Desert Inn for $275 Million

Sun International Hotels, owner of the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas, agreed to buy Desert Inn from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. for $275 million in cash. The purchase would mark Sun International’s entry into Las Vegas, the world’s largest gambling market. Starwood, the world’s largest hotel owner, is selling its major casino resorts to focus on its Sheraton and Westin hotel chains. The Desert Inn purchase gives Sun International Chairman Solomon Kerzner one of the most high-priced hotels in Las Vegas and 32 acres to build a new resort on the Las Vegas Strip. Shares of Sun International, based in Nassau, the Bahamas, rose 94 cents to close at $47.13 on the New York Stock Exchange. Starwood, based in White Plains, N.Y., rose 25 cents to close at $34.75, also on the NYSE.