Stonebridge buys Le Méridien New Orleans for $84 million

STONEBRIDGE COS. HAS acquired the Le Méridien New Orleans hotel for $84 million from Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. It is the second acquisition in the city in 12 months for the Denver-based company, started by CEO Navin Dimond.

The 410-room, full-service upscale hotel on Poydras Street is near the city’s French Quarter, Bourbon Street and Warehouse Arts District. Also nearby are the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Smoothie King Center and the Port of New Orleans Cruise Ship Terminal.

Amenities include a rooftop pool, onsite restaurants and more than 13,000 square feet of event space.

With the new purchase, Stonebridge’s portfolio stands at 63 hotels and more than 10,000 guest rooms, including select-service, extended-stay, mid-scale and full-service hotels in several states. It is the first Le Méridien hotel for the company, Dimond said.

“Last year we purchased the Embassy Suites by Hilton New Orleans,” Dimond said.  “New Orleans is truly a great American city, and the Le Méridien is ideally located for both leisure and business travelers alike visiting downtown New Orleans.”

The purchase amount equaled $205,000 per key, according to Park Hotels, and the proceeds will be used to repay a portion of the company’s unsecured indebtedness. That is 17 times the hotel’s expected net income for 2019, the company said.

“With the sale of the Le Meridian New Orleans we have now sold, or otherwise disposed of, 22 non-core assets for $1.0 billion since our spin from Hilton as we continue to make progress against our strategic plan to improve the quality of our portfolio by exiting international and slower growth domestic markets,” Park Chairman and CEO Thomas Baltimore, Jr., said.

In December, Stonebridge promoted and added several members of its team, including Pratik Amin as general manager for its Hyatt Place Fort Lee/George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, New Jersey.