Following market speculation in July that Strategic Hotels & Resorts was exploring a possible sale of the company, the real estate investment trust has confirmed that its board of directors is exploring strategic alternatives, including a potential sale.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Bill Gates’ Cascade Investment has increased its stake in the company from 9.2 at the end of 2014 to 9.8 percent in the last few months, indicating a takeover may be on the horizon. Cascade currently holds 1.74 million shares, making it the real estate investment trust’s second-largest shareholder after Vanguard Group, says BloombergBusiness.
Strategic Hotels owns a number of properties, including the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay in California and Essex House in Manhattan. It has a market value of $3.8 billion, according to Bloomberg.
