Inland American to sell 52 hotels for $1.1 billion

Inland American Real Estate Trust Inc., which is in the process of spinning off its hotel business, said Thursday it is selling 52 of its hotels to a joint venture for about $1.1 billion.

Oak Brook-based Inland American it still plans to spin off its hotel business, Xenia Hotels & Resorts Inc., into a separate and publicly traded company within the next three to seven months. It sold off the portfolio of 52 hotels because it wants the new company to focus only on hotels in the top markets.

Inland American is a real estate investment trust that owns retail, industrial and office properties around the country.

The buyers are real estate investment trusts NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. and Chatham Lodging Trust. NorthStar Realty will own 90 percent of the portfolio, while Chatham will own the remaining 10 percent. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

The hotels are located all over the country and are mostly either branded as a Marriott or Hilton and have a total of 6,976 rooms.

After the deal closes, New York-based NorthStar Realty said its total hotel investments will rise to 159 properties and over 20,000 rooms. Chatham, based in Palm Beach, Florida, owns interests in 78 hotels, or 10,882 rooms. Chatham also announced Thursday that it bought the 194-room Hyatt Place Denver Cherry Creek for $32 million.