At least that's the way FelCor president and CEO Tom Corcoran sees the buyout, which calls for $240 million in cash and the balance in stock. FelCor also will assume $1.6 billion of MeriStar debt. Under the takeover, FelCor will swap $4.60 and 0.784 of a share for each MeriStar share.

Corcoran tells GlobeSt.com that the deal will close in the third quarter although a press release has pinned the final inking to August. "I'm telling everybody the third quarter to give myself some breathing room," he says.

FelCor is buying the real estate and bringing the operation to its Irving headquarters. An extra 10 to 12 people will come on board when it's a done deal. MeriStar Hotels & Resorts, a separate operating company, will remain in Washington, DC.

FelCor would be holding title to 299 hotels, beefing up its holdings in upscale facilities such as Hilton, Sheraton and Embassy Suites. MeriStar has a 12-year contract, with three five-year options, to manage the hotels. More importantly, Corcoran tells GlobeSt.com that FelCor will now own eight significant brands of multiple holdings. And, he says, there are no plans to build additional hotels at this point. "We're just focused on this," he emphasizes.

MeriStar has been faced with sagging RevPAR like many of its counterparts. That's not the case with FelCor, which just two days ago had released its first-quarter report. Corcoran says the current 2% RevPAR will continue throughout this year and is predicting that it will hit 4% in 2002. Those numbers are running slightly below what PriceWaterhouseCoopers is projecting for the hotel industry, he points out.

Corcoran will be chairman and CEO for the combined company while Paul W. Whetsell, MeriStar chairman and CEO, and Steven D. Jorns, vice chairman, will be placed on the combined company's board. Whetsell will stay in Washington, DC whereas Jorns already lives in Ft. Worth. FelCor's advisor has been Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown and J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. and MeriStar's Salomon Smith Barney.