NASHVILLE, Tenn. and NEW YORK, June 06, 2023 — Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (NYSE: RHP) (“Ryman”) and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. (“BREIT”) today announced a definitive agreement under which Ryman will purchase the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa (“JW Marriott Hill Country”) in San Antonio, Texas for $800 million from BREIT.
Mark Fioravanti, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ryman Hospitality Properties, said, “We identified the JW Marriott Hill Country as an ideal acquisition target quite some time ago. Located in an attractive and growing market with no emerging competitive supply, this beautiful resort is a natural complement to our existing Gaylord Hotels portfolio and offers significant opportunities to serve the group and leisure sides of our business. The acquisition price represents a Trailing Twelve Months (through March 31, 2023) Adjusted EBITDAre multiple of approximately 12.6x.¹”
Nadeem Meghji, Head of Blackstone Real Estate Americas, said, “Where you invest matters and Ryman’s unsolicited outreach demonstrates the strong investor demand for BREIT’s portfolio, which is concentrated in the highest growth sectors and geographies. This sale, which generates approximately $275 million in profit over a five-year hold period through Covid, represents a terrific outcome for BREIT shareholders.”
Located amid approximately 640 acres in the Texas Hill Country, the JW Marriott Hill Country, which opened in 2010, is a premier group-oriented resort with 1,002 rooms and 268,000 total square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and event space. The resort’s amenities include the 26,000-square-foot Lantana Spa; eight food and beverage outlets; the 9-acre River Bluff water experience; and TPC San Antonio featuring two 18-hole golf courses, the Greg Norman-designed Oaks Course and the Pete Dye-designed Canyons course.
San Antonio, Texas, the nation’s seventh most populous city and the second most populous city in Texas, is one of the top meeting and leisure markets in the United States. The addition of the JW Marriott Hill Country to Ryman’s portfolio of group-oriented hotels will provide Ryman with ownership of two of the top group-focused assets in Texas.
Ryman plans for the resort to continue to operate under the JW Marriott flag.
Fioravanti continued, “We are pleased with the opportunity to expand our relationship with Marriott as we continue to grow our network of one-of-a-kind group hotels. We are excited to add this high-quality asset to our portfolio and expect the acquisition to be accretive to our adjusted funds from operation per share in the first full year of ownership. We look forward to pursuing additional value creation opportunities at this property and synergies with our existing portfolio through our unique asset management approach.”
Ryman and BREIT expect to close the JW Marriott Hill Country acquisition during the second or third quarter of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions. BofA Securities acted as exclusive financial advisor to Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc., and Bass, Berry & Sims PLC and Greenberg Traurig, LLP acted as legal advisors. Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Eastdil Secured, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Santander US Capital Markets LLC, Scotiabank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and Wells Fargo acted as financial advisors to BREIT, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acted as legal advisor.
