GREENWICH, CT-Barry Sternlicht, Starwood Capital Group's founder, chairman and CEO, has been talking to banks about a possible IPO for the company, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal and on Bloomberg. The talks are preliminary and may not lead to a stock offering for the investment firm, which has $33 billion in assets under management.
Citing an unnamed source said to be familiar with the discussions, Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Starwood Capital would likely sell a minority stake in an IPO. Sternlicht told Bloomberg Television in December 2012 that he was considering a stake sale to raise cash and finance new businesses. This past November, he said he may consider IPOs of some of Starwood's holdings.
"I think you might see our mall business go public, maybe some of our hotels," Sternlicht said in the November 2013 interview with Bloomberg Television. "We own more than 100 hotels in the US and are building a bunch. It's a good time to be public."
In its story Monday, the WSJ noted that shares in private-equity funds and other alternative investment vehicles had rallied since last year. Shares in the Blackstone Group—which has held IPOs for three of its lodging companies in recent months—have doubled in price since the beginning of last year, for example. A spokesman for Starwood Capital tells GlobeSt.com the firm has no comment.
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