Blackstone Real Estate Partners Acquires Waikoloa Beach and Wailea Marriott Resorts from Outrigger Enterprises

HONOLULU – Outrigger Enterprises has signed a binding agreement to sell its Waikoloa Beach Marriott and Wailea Marriott resorts to affiliates of Blackstone Real Estate Advisors of New York for an undisclosed price. The agreement, which was announced today by Outrigger CEO David Carey, could close as early as July 30, 2004.

“This is very good news for Outrigger and for the employees who have helped us transform these properties into world-class assets,” said Carey. “Outrigger will use a portion of the proceeds from the sale to finance our future growth in Hawaii and throughout the Pacific.”

Blackstone owns a portfolio of hotels and resorts in the United States and Europe, including the Marriott Grosvenor Square Hotel in London, the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco and the Hyatt Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Additionally, Blackstone recently sold the Hyatt Regency Maui.

“We are excited about the opportunity to acquire these wonderful beachfront properties. We will begin major renovations at both assets soon, which should be quite beneficial for the Wailea and Waikoloa resort communities,” commented Jonathan Gray, senior managing director at Blackstone.

The Wailea Marriott and the Waikoloa Beach Marriott have been operated by Outrigger through a franchise agreement with Marriott International. The hotels will continue to be affiliated with Marriott International after Blackstone’s acquisition.

The Wailea Marriott is a 521-room, resort hotel on 22 acres of beachfront property in the Wailea Resort. The Waikoloa Beach Marriott is a 545-room, resort hotel that sits on 16 oceanfront acres on the shore of Anaeho`omalu Bay, on the Big Island’s Kohala Coast. Outrigger was advised during the sale by the Santa Monica office of Eastdil Realty.

The Blackstone Group, a private investment firm with offices in New York, London and Hamburg, was founded in 1985. Blackstone Real Estate Advisors has raised five funds representing more than $6 billion in total equity. The group has made over 100 separate investments in hotels, offices and other commercial properties with a total transaction value in excess of $15 billion. In addition to Real Estate, The Blackstone Group’s core businesses include Private Equity Investing, Corporate Debt Investing, Marketable Alternative Asset Management, Corporate Advisory Services, and Restructuring and Reorganization Advisory.

Outrigger Hotels & Resorts is a division of Honolulu-based Outrigger Enterprises, Inc., the largest lodging company in Hawaii and one of the fastest-growing lodging companies in the Pacific. Under various management contracts and its two hotel brands – Outrigger Hotels & Resorts and OHANA Hotels & Resorts – the company currently operates or has under development 51 hotels and resorts throughout the Pacific region, representing more than 12,000 hotel rooms and condominium units in Hawaii, Australia, Micronesia, Fiji, Tahiti and New Zealand. Through a strategic alliance with Fairfield Resorts, the world’s largest time-share company, Outrigger Enterprises manages three vacation ownership properties on Hawaii’s Big Island. Outrigger’s affiliate, Outrigger Lodging Services, operates 14 hotels and resorts throughout the U.S. Mainland under a variety of brands.