Paul Hastings Advises Consortium On Sale Of $250 Million Hotel Portfolio To Ashford Hospitality

March 18, 2005

New York (March 18, 2005) - - Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP (Paul Hastings), is pleased to announce that the firm has advised on the sale of a 21-property, 4,094-room hotel portfolio to Ashford Hospitality Trust. The total purchase, valued at $250 million, includes $35.0 million in cash, the issuance of $50.3 million in operating partnership units and the assumption of $164.7 million in debt.

The consortium of sellers included affiliates of the Gordon Getty Trust, George Soros and the Fisher Brothers collectively as majority partners, and certain members of Ashford's senior management team as minority partners. The transaction closed on March 16, 2005.

"This was a complex transaction that mandated collaboration between attorneys across the real estate and corporate practices," said Philip Feder, Chair of the Paul Hastings Real Estate Department. "We believe that our ability to reach across practice lines to hand-pick the teams that will ensure successful outcomes for our clients distinguishes Paul Hastings as a legal counselor of choice for intricate real estate transactions."

Among the hotels in the portfolio are the Houston Embassy Suites Galleria, the Houston Hilton NASA/Clear Lake and the Fort Worth Radisson.

The Paul Hastings team that advised on the transaction included New York corporate partner Mark Schonberger and associates Brian Brennan and Debbie Nwaobi and New York real estate of counsels Douglas A. Raelson and Mary McKenna, and associates Ralph Toussie and Carrie Packard.

Paul Hastings Real Estate Department: The Paul Hastings Real Estate practice has 160 lawyers and related practitioners focusing exclusively on the needs of clients in the real estate industry, both domestically and internationally. The firm has real estate teams in all of its offices worldwide. Paul Hastings distinguishes itself by the breadth of its representation of clients who are in the business of real estate - those who own, invest, finance, lease, develop, and trade real property and real estate assets. The firm represents private, public, and municipal entities and individuals who make real estate their business.

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, founded in 1951, is an international law firm, representing Fortune 500 companies with more than 1,000 attorneys located in 15 offices: Atlanta, Beijing, Brussels, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, Paris, San Diego, San Francisco, Shanghai, Stamford, Tokyo and Washington, DC.