Pebblebrook Urges LaSalle Shareholders To Vote Against Blackstone Deal

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.

Pebblebrook is among the entities picking up LaSalle shares — an issue that has made its way to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Pebblebrook, which had a 4.8% stake in LaSalle prior to its first offer for the REIT, went on to acquire some 5 million shares after its bid, bringing its holding to about 9.8%. LaSalle informed regulators that Pebblebrook “was provided with material nonpublic information” during the sale process “and we believe that Pebblebrook was in possession of such information during the time it was purchasing the company’s shares.”

As for Pebblebrook, it is telling LaSalle’s shareholders that it intends to vote its 10.8 million LaSalle common shares against Blackstone’s proposal.