San Clemente-based Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. said on Wednesday that its 9 million stock sale is under way.
The real estate investment trust is selling 3 million shares of its own stock, with affiliates of Westbrook Partners LLC selling 6 million shares.
Sunstone plans to use its share of the funds to buy and renovate hotels, and for general corporate purposes.
The offering’s underwriters, which include Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co., have the option to buy 1.35 million more shares from stockholders.
Sunstone was bought by SHP Acquisition LLC, an affiliate of Westbrook Partners and Sunstone management, in 1999 for about $390 million. Last year the hotel operator raised $413 million in an initial public offering.
Last week, Sunstone said it agreed to buy hotels in downtown Washington, D.C., and Cerritos for $187 million in cash and assumed debt.
The acquisitions of the Washington, D.C., Renaissance and Sheraton Cerritos are expected to close in June. Sunstone will have 60 hotels after the deals close.
Shares of Sunstone were down 1.1% to $22.7 in trading Wednesday.
