Starwood Hotels Agrees to By Le Meridien

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. said Thursday they have agreed to buy the upscale Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts Ltd. chain for an undisclosed sum.

The agreement to buy the Meridien brand and business, which includes more than 130 hotels and resorts, finalizes a preliminary deal reached earlier this year.

Starwood, whose brands include Sheraton and Westin, and Lehman agreed in late 2003 to exclusively negotiate a recapitalization of Le Meridien as they acquired all of Le Meridien´s outstanding senior debt. In April, the companies reached the preliminary deal to buy Le Meridien´s actual business.

London-based Le Meridien expects the deal to be concluded by the end of September.

"The signing of the definitive agreements is another step towards completing the consensual recapitalization of Le Meridien," said Le Meridien Chief Executive Robert Riley. "When all the pieces of the transaction come together, the Le Meridien brand will be poised to move forward aggressively."