Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. said the underwriters of a $250 million stock offering plan to buy another $37 million worth of the company’s shares.
The San Clemente-based owner of hotels said late Wednesday that Citigroup and Merrill Lynch & Co. will buy 1.6 million shares of Sunstone stock at $23.40.
The stock sale included 3 million shares sold by Sunstone and 7.6 million shares sold by affiliates of Westbrook Partners LLC. The deal initially called for Westbrook to sell 6 million shares.
Sunstone plans to use its share of the offering,about $70 million,to buy and renovate hotels, and for general corporate purposes.
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.
A couple of weeks ago, 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 slightly to $23.7 on Wednesday.
