Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) announced today that Deutsche Bank, Jones Lang LaSalle and JP Morgan have been retained to market for sale all or a portion of the Company`s hotels within the CIGA portfolio. Starwood plans to sell the hotels but retain long-term management contracts. The Company has spent considerable time determining the optimal strategy for maximizing sale proceeds.
CIGA`s assets include the St. Regis Grand and Westin Excelsior in Rome, Hotel Danieli and Hotel Gritti Palace in Venice, Hotel Principe di Savoia in Milan, and Grand Hotel in Florence, among others.

“These are museum quality assets, superior to those owned or operated by our competitive set, that should trade significantly above Starwood`s current multiple,” said Ron Brown, Starwood`s Chief Financial Officer. “The arbitrage opportunity inherent in that multiple differential is compelling.”

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 725 properties in 80 countries and 120,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. With internationally renowned brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchiser of hotels and resorts including: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton and W brands, as well as Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc. one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For further information, please visit http://www.starwoodhotels.com.

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