CHICAGO—Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc., which announced three weeks ago that it was exploring a possible sale, has agreed to be acquired by the Blackstone Group. Blackstone will acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of the hotel REIT—which trades as BEE—for $14.25 per share in cash, and all of the outstanding membership units of its Strategic Hotels Funding L.L.C subsidiary for $14.25 per unit in cash. All told, the deal is valued at approximately $6 billion including the assumption of debt.

“We believe this transaction capitalizes on our unique portfolio, strong asset management platform and continued operating outperformance over the past several years,” says BEE's chairman and CEO, Raymond L. Gellein. “The board thoroughly considered various alternatives over the course of the past few years, and this all cash offer from Blackstone creates significant stockholder value with a high degree of execution certainty.”

Adds Tyler Henritze, co-head of US acquisitions for Blackstone Real Estate, “As long term investors in the lodging industry, we remain confident in the fundamentals of the sector despite recent market volatility.” The New York City-based alternative assets giant has taken Hilton and La Quinta private over the past decade, among its other investments in the sector.