Westin Neutral on Tender Offer

Westin Hotel LP, White Plains, N.Y., has announced that it is making no recommendation on a tender offer by a group led by Windy City Investments LLC to purchase up to 20,340 limited partnership units of Westin Hotel.The offer from Windy City, as well as Madison Windy City Investments LLC, Madison Investment Partners 20 LLC, Madison Capital Group LLC, The Harmony Group II LLC, and Bryan E. Gordon, includes a purchase price of $525 per unit, minus a $50 fee charged by Westin Hotel for each transfer. The offer would also be reduced by the amount of any cash distributions made or declared on or after July 7, with interest at the rate of 3% per year from the expiration date of the tender offer to the date of payment. The board of directors of Westin Realty Corp., the general partner of Westin Hotel, said it is remaining neutral toward the offer. However, Westin Realty issued a number of statements for the consideration of limited partners, including one noting its efforts to sell or refinance The Westin Michigan Avenue in Chicago since 2001. "Due to current market conditions in the hotel real estate market, the general partner does not believe that it will be able to sell the Michigan Avenue at an acceptable price in the near future," Westin Realty said.