EXHIBIT 99.1
NEWS RELEASE
| Contact: | David Kimichik | Deric Eubanks | Elise Chittick | Scott Eckstein |
| Chief Financial Officer | SVP – Finance | Investor Relations | Financial Relations Board | |
| (972) 490-9600 | (972) 490-9600 | (972) 778-9487 | (212) 827-3766 | |
ASHFORD TRUST COMPLETES $69 MILLION
FINANCING OF PIER HOUSE RESORT
DALLAS, September 11, 2013 -- Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE: AHT) (“Ashford Trust” or the “Company”) today announced that it has completed a $69 million property level debt financing for the previously-closed acquisition of the 142-room Pier House Resort in Key West, Florida. The new financing has a two-year term and three, one-year extension options with no test requirements for the first two extensions. The loan provides for a floating interest rate of LIBOR + 4.90%, with no LIBOR Floor.
“Capitalizing on present conditions in the debt market allowed us to complete this financing of the Pier House Resort at very attractive terms while realizing substantial proceeds to further strengthen our liquidity position,” commented Monty J. Bennett, Ashford Trust’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “RevPAR for the Pier House is up over 9% since we closed on the acquisition. This strong revenue growth, along with the cost savings we have implemented, resulted in significant lender interest to finance this asset.”
Ashford Hospitality Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing opportunistically in the hospitality industry across all segments and at all levels of the capital structure primarily within the United States.
Follow Chairman and CEO Monty Bennett on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBennettAshford or @MBennettAshford.
Certain statements and assumptions in this press release contain or are based upon "forward-looking" information and are being made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. When we use the words "will likely result," "may," "anticipate," "estimate," "should," "expect," "believe," "intend," or similar expressions, we intend to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to numerous assumptions and uncertainties, many of which are outside Ashford's control.
These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including, without limitation: general volatility of the capital markets and the market price of our common stock; changes in our business or investment strategy; availability, terms and deployment of capital; availability of qualified personnel; changes in our industry and the market in which we operate, interest rates or the general economy; the degree and nature of our competition; and the satisfaction of the condition to the completion of the spin-off . These and other risk factors are more fully discussed in Ashford's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The forward-looking statements included in this press release are only made as of the date of this press release. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We are not obligated to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances, changes in expectations or otherwise.
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