Pebblebrook Urges LaSalle Shareholders To Vote Against Blackstone Deal

A LaSalle Hotel holding

BETHESDA, MD–Pebblebrook Hotel Trust is not giving up on its fight to acquire LaSalle Hotel Properties. Instead the REIT is urging LaSalle shareholders to reject the proposed $4.8 billion or $33.50 per share offer by Blackstone in a preliminary proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Pebblebrook argues that its latest offer “is substantially superior to LaSalle’s merger agreement with Blackstone,” according to a statement by CEO Jon Bortz. He adds that “The shareholders of LaSalle wholeheartedly agree with us as LaSalle’s shares continue to trade at prices well above Blackstone’s take-under price of $33.50.

He noted that since the announcement of the Blackstone agreement, over 100 million LaSalle shares have traded, and all above $33.50. “The trading activity in LaSalle shares after the Blackstone announcement means that any shareholder who wanted certainty at $33.50 has had the opportunity to realize that value or more, an opportunity that continues today,” he said.