Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP Advises Starwood Hotels & Resorts in its Acquisition of the Brand and Management Business of Meridien Hotels

NEW YORK and LONDON, November 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP represented Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. in its acquisition of the Brand and Management business of Meridien Hotels & Resorts. The transaction, a part of the global restructuring of Meridien, also included the refinancing of more than 1 billion pounds Sterling in Meridien debt, and the acquisition by a joint venture of Lehman Brothers and Starwood Capital Group LLP of 40 hotels owned by Meridien. Starwood Hotels will manage the hotels acquired by Lehman/SCG in the transaction as well as approximately 110 hotels worldwide currently operated under management contracts by Meridien.

Sidley began advising Starwood on the transaction in late 2003, when Lehman Brothers and Starwood jointly acquired all of Meridien's outstanding senior debt for approximately 720 million pounds. During early 2004, Lehman and Starwood also acquired a controlling position in Meridien's outstanding senior mezzanine debt. In connection with the acquisition of these positions, Starwood was given the exclusive right to propose a restructuring of Meridien. Starwood's positions in the senior and senior mezzanine loans were redeemed at closing.

"This is a strategically significant transaction for Starwood, which is acquiring a hotel brand that is highly respected in Europe, Africa and Asia," commented London-based Sidley partner Robert Asher, who led the transaction team. "We are extremely pleased to have helped Starwood bring this very challenging transaction to a successful close."

Sidley has represented Starwood for more than 30 years, including in its US$14.6 billion acquisition of ITT Corporation and its US$2 billion acquisition of Westin Hotels & Resorts, both completed in 1998. Most recently, Sidley acted for Starwood in its agreement to sell 38 hotels to Host Marriott Corporation for US$4.1 billion, a transaction expected to close in early 2006.

Sidley attorneys who advised Starwood on this matter include:

Corporate: London partners Robert Asher and Thomas Thesing, assistants Jonathan Wallace, Brett Rowland, Leigh O'Grady, Stuart Forgan, William Long, Julia Barnes, John Verwey and Kirsten Bradby; Tax: London Partner Drew Scott and assistant Gerald Montagu and New York counsel Angelica Kwan; Employment: London assistants Sheena McCaffrey and Bettina Schendel; Property: London partner Julian Goodman and assistants Charles Malpass, Catherine Dyson, and Jeremy Trinder, New York partner Alan Weil; Finance: London partners Richard Hughes and Jason Richardson and assistant Jane Allen, and New York associates Joel Randleman and Anu Naidu; Insolvency: London partners Patrick Corr and Robin Parsons and assistant Paul Atherton; Antitrust/Competition: Chicago partner Marc Raven, Washington, D.C., partner Neil Ellis and Brussels partner Stephen Spinks.

Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP is one of the world's largest full-service law firms, with more than 1,600 lawyers practicing in 14 U.S. and international cities. Sidley was named the Number One-Ranked U.S. Law Firm for Overall Client Service in 2002 and 2004 in surveys of Fortune 1000 executives by BTI, a Boston-based consulting and research firm. In 2005, BTI named Sidley to their Client Service Hall of Fame as one of only two law firms to rank in the Client Service Top 10 for five years in a row. Sidley received the 2005 Catalyst Award in recognition of the firm's initiative to recruit, retain and advance diverse talent.