Sunstone Hotel to Buy 10 Properties

Sunstone Hotel Investors LLC, a San Clemente company that buys and renovates mid-priced to luxury hotels, has agreed to buy 10 hotel properties for $132 million in cash from a debt-plagued Georgia company.

Lodgian Inc. in Atlanta said Tuesday that it has agreed to sell the hotels as part of its ongoing effort to pare its debt. The deal is expected to close by the end of September.

Lodgian said it will sell five Holiday Inns, two Hilton Garden Inns, one Sheraton, one Courtyard by Marriott and one Marriott--a total of 2,135 rooms. Lodgian owns or operates mid-priced to upscale hotels in 35 states and Canada. Its holdings consist of about 26,000 rooms.

Sunstone operates or has stakes in about 60 hotels with a total of 10,300 rooms. Most are in the 12 Western states.