Loews Hotels & Resorts, a wholly owned subsidiary of
Loews Corporation
(
L
) closed the purchase of Renaissance Hotel & Spa in Hollywood,
California. The 632-room asset was purchased from CIM Group and
renamed Loews Hollywood Hotel.
The expected $26 million renovation program is scheduled for
completion in the summer of 2013. The renovation will be completed
in stages so that the services, which the guests can avail are not
hampered.
This acquisition is the first amongst Loews's plans of nearly
doubling its hotel count by the next three to five years. It aims
to add more hotels to its portfolio in order to take the count from
18 to over 30. It also expects a threefold growth in its net income
in the next three years.
Renaissance Hotel & Spa features Hollywood & Highland
Center, a 460,000-square-foot, five-story construction having more
than 80 specialty retail outlets. The complex has 26 restaurants
and eateries, two nightclubs, seven movie screens, eight bars and
12 bowling lanes.
It also features 65,000 square feet of meeting space and
25,000-square-feet of ballroom space.
With capital at disposal to acquire and develop property,
management will seek like opportunities in Boston, Chicago, San
Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York, Dallas, Toronto and Seattle
to add assets to its portfolio, thereby aiding it to cater to a
larger customer base.
Loews Hotels' net income in the first quarter doubled to $4
million from the year-ago level. We believe, the addition of this
hotel to its portfolio will help the company to continue delivering
such robust numbers. These initiatives will further boost the
company's hotel business.
We retain our Outperform recommendation on Loews Corporation.
The quantitative Zacks #1 Rank (short-term Strong Buy rating) for
the company indicates a boost on the stock over the near term.
Headquartered in New York, Loews Corporation is a diversified
holding company. The company's principal subsidiaries are
CNA Financial Corporation
(
CNA
),
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc.
(
DO
), Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP, Loews Hotels Holding Corporation
and HighMount Exploration & Production LLC.
CNA FINL CORP (CNA): Free Stock Analysis Report
DIAMOND OFFSHOR (DO): Free Stock Analysis
Report
LOEWS CORP (L): Free Stock Analysis Report
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