Pinnacle Hotels USA Acquires 292-Room Marriott Riverside for $19.3 million
	CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Hotels announced that Pinnacle Hotels USA has acquired the 292-room Marriott Riverside for $19.3 million ($66,000 per room) from Sunstone Hotels (NYSE: SHO).
The 12-story hotel is situated in the heart of the historic downtown Riverside area adjacent to the Riverside Convention Center and is located within two miles of the University of California Riverside campus. In addition to its 14,000 square feet of meeting space, the Riverside Marriott features a restaurant, lounge, gift shop, outdoor swimming pool and whirlpool, fitness room and business center. "The Marriott Riverside is a valuable and timely addition to our owned real estate portfolio," said Dr. Bharat "Barry" Lall, president of Pinnacle Hotels USA. "With a successful track record of contrarian investing, we believe select opportunities are beginning to appear in the hotel sector despite the deterioration in the fundamental backdrop." Pinnacle Hotels USA was founded in 1998 by Dr. Lall who acquired his first hotel in 1989. Since the recession of the early 1990s, Barry Lall has invested in over 80 properties. Pinnacle Hotels USA has been a net seller of hotels since 2006, trimming the portfolio from 23 hotels to six. According to Lall, the company is opportunistically evaluating acquisitions amidst the recession and industry downturn. CBRE Hotels advised on the transaction for Pinnacle Hotels USA. Pete Dannemiller, executive vice president of Hodges Ward Elliott, represented Sunstone Hotels. According to Stan Kozlowski, senior vice president of CBRE Hotels, the acquisition is a timely opportunity for Pinnacle Hotels USA. "Using a variety of valuation metrics, the Marriott Riverside represents a compelling value including being priced well below replacement cost with a persuasive capitalization rate on adjusted 2009 earnings," Kozlowski said. CBRE Hotels is a specialized advisory group providing financial advisory services to companies in the hotel sector.