MeriStar Investment Partners Agrees to Acquire Hilton Hotel in California's
Silicon Valley
Hotel Will Be Sixth Acquired by Investment Partnership
Press Release
October 6, 1999
WASHINGTON, DC -- MeriStar Investment Partners, a $400 million investment partnership, yesterday announced that
it has agreed to acquire the 315-room Hilton Newark/Fremont Hotel in Newark, Calif.
The property will be the sixth hotel acquired by the partnership, in a transaction expected to close by year end.
The partnership plans to invest $6 million in the first year to renovate the property. Participants in the investment
partnership are MeriStar Hospitality Corporation (NYSE:MHX), MeriStar Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MMH), and
Oak Hill Capital Partners, L.P., a private equity investment group.
"The Hilton Newark/Fremont is located on the northern edge of Silicon Valley in an area home to a growing
number of high-tech startup companies,'' said Paul Whetsell, chairman and CEO of both MeriStar Hospitality and
MeriStar Hotels & Resorts. "This acquisition represents a classic opportunity to comprehensively renovate
and reposition a premium-branded hotel with substantial meeting space to enhance its overall returns and value.''
Located at 39900 Balentine Drive in Newark, the hotel consists of a seven-story tower and two-and three-story buildings
surrounding a pool and garden courtyards. The Hilton Newark/Fremont features 11,000 square feet of meeting space,
a fitness center, skin care salon and full-service restaurant and lobby lounge.
MeriStar Hotels & Resorts will manage the hotels and oversee the $6 million renovation program. All guestrooms
will be refurbished and updated; the restaurant and lounge will be renovated to give them a more casual, yet upscale,
ambiance.
"This will be the fifth Hilton managed by MeriStar Hotels in California, and its third hotel in the San Jose
area, which will contribute to greater operational efficiencies,'' Whetsell said. "We expect the combination
of our proprietary management programs and planned renovations will produce significant performance improvements
and establish the property as a market leader.''
Oak Hill Capital Partners, L.P. is a $1.5 billion private equity partnership sponsored by Robert M. Bass and his
team of investment professionals. Oak Hill Capital Partners makes significant investments in the form of acquisitions,
build-ups, recapitalizations, restructurings, strategic joint ventures and minority stakes across a wide range
of industries. Oak Hill Capital Partners Management, Inc., based in New York, New York and Menlo Park, California,
manages the partnership.
Washington, D.C.-based MeriStar Hospitality Corporation owns 117 principally upscale, full-service hotels in major
market and resort locations with 29,468 rooms in 27 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.
MeriStar Hotels & Resorts leases or manages 217 hotels with 45,328 rooms in 34 states, the District of Columbia,
Canada and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
For more information about MeriStar Hospitality Corporation and MeriStar Hotels & Resorts, Inc., visit the
companies' web site: www.meristar.com.
The matters in this press release include "forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are qualified by cautionary statements contained
herein and in MeriStar Hotels & Resorts' and MeriStar Hospitality Corporation's filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission.
Contact:
MeriStar
An Phung, 202/295-2214
Nicole Watson, 202/295-2252
or
Daly Gray Public Relations
Jerry Daly or Chris Daly, 703/465-0438