Aimbridge Hospitality Retained to Manage Six Platinum Equity Hotels

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - Jun 25, 2012) - Platinum Equity announced today that Aimbridge Hospitality, one of the nation's leading independent hotel investment and management firms, has been retained by an affiliate of Platinum Equity to manage six hotels in Florida, Minnesota, North Carolina and Texas.

Under the agreement, Dallas-based Aimbridge Hospitality will manage The Holiday Inn San Antonio International Airport, Sheraton Suites Cypress Creek in Fort Lauderdale, Embassy Suites Downtown St. Paul, DoubleTree Suites Tampa Airport-Westshore, DoubleTree Suites in Raleigh-Durham, and the Embassy Suites Boca Raton. The portfolio totals 1,527 rooms.

Meridian Capital Group, LLC, a leading national commercial real estate advisory firm, negotiated an $85 million acquisition and construction loan in connection with the investment.

The hotel operations were acquired in May by an affiliate of Platinum Equity, which specializes in acquiring underperforming businesses and transforming them through hands-on operational improvements. Platinum Equity's strategy for this investment included replacement of the management company overseeing day-to-day operations at the hotels.

"An important aspect of our investment approach involves putting strong management teams in place at our businesses," said Platinum Equity Principal David Aroesty. "Aimbridge has substantial experience in the hospitality industry and we're confident they will help us transform these businesses."

Dave Johnson, President and CEO of Aimbridge Hospitality, said that Platinum Equity has committed substantial operations and financial resources to the investment, and he expressed confidence that the six hotels would emerge as industry leaders for service, amenities and guest experience.

"We look forward to managing these hotels, and plan to capitalize on a variety of improvements to increase the value of the hotels," Mr. Johnson said.

Seth K. Grossman, a Managing Director based in Meridian's Carlsbad, California office, led the Meridian team while assisting with the financing. In addition to the upfront funding, this loan also provides future fundings to allow the borrower to complete significant renovations and reposition the assets in the portfolio to the upper end of their respective markets.

About Platinum Equity
Platinum Equity (www.platinumequity.com) is a global M&A&O® firm specializing in the merger, acquisition and operation of companies that provide services and solutions to customers in a broad range of business markets, including information technology, telecommunications, logistics, metals services, manufacturing and distribution. Since its founding in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity has completed over 130 acquisitions.

About Aimbridge Hospitality
Aimbridge Hospitality is one of the nation's leading independent hotel investment and management firms with a proven track record for delivering superior returns for its strategic partners in a variety of markets and economic cycles. Aimbridge provides management, asset management, development, renovation and consulting services. Based in Dallas, Texas and with development offices in Chicago, Dallas and Puerto Rico, Aimbridge currently owns and/or manages over 80 upscale, independent and branded hotels with nearly 15,000 rooms across the United States and the Caribbean, including such affiliations as Marriott, Hilton, Embassy Suites, DoubleTree, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Aloft, Hyatt, Wyndham and the Phoenix Inn Suites chain of hotels. For more information on Aimbridge Hospitality, please visit www.aimbridgehospitality.com.

About Meridian Capital Group
Founded in 1991, Meridian Capital Group, LLC is one of the nation's largest commercial real estate finance and advisory firms. Meridian is headquartered in New York with offices in New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, Florida and California. Working with a broad array of capital providers, Meridian arranges financing for transactions ranging from $1 million to more than $500 million for multifamily, co-op, office, retail, hotel, mixed-use, industrial, healthcare, student housing, self-storage and construction properties. www.meridiancapital.com.