Sunstone Hotel Investors Successfully Amends Unsecured Debt Agreements, Providing Enhanced Acquisition Capacity

Rhea-AI Summary

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE: SHO) announced key amendments to its unsecured debt agreements, including a $500 million revolving credit facility. The amendments remove restrictions on unencumbered hotel acquisitions, increasing acquisition flexibility during the covenant waiver period. The company is no longer limited to $250 million for non-equity funded acquisitions and can pursue growth without mandatory prepayment requirements from asset sales. These changes enhance Sunstone's capacity to capitalize on acquisition opportunities as the hospitality sector recovers.

Positive

• Increased acquisition flexibility due to removal of restrictions on unencumbered hotel acquisitions.
• Ability to pursue acquisitions without mandatory prepayment from asset sales or equity issuances.
• Amendments provide incremental capacity for future growth.

Negative

• None.

IRVINE, Calif., July 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (the "Company" or "Sunstone") (NYSE: SHO), the owner of Long-Term Relevant Real Estate® in the hospitality sector, announced that it has completed amendments to the agreements governing its in-place unsecured debt, including the Company's $500 million revolving credit facility, $185 million of funded term loan facilities and $205 million of outstanding private placement senior notes. Pursuant to the terms of the amendments, certain restrictions limiting the aggregate value of unencumbered hotel acquisitions that the Company can complete during the covenant waiver period have been removed.  Following the amendments, the Company is no longer subject to the restrictive covenant limiting non-equity funded acquisitions to a maximum of $250 million.  Additionally, provided that an event of default has not occurred, the agreement governing Sunstone's revolving credit facility and funded term loans no longer requires a mandatory prepayment from net proceeds received from asset sales or equity issuances. The amended unsecured debt agreements continue to provide for a waiver of the financial covenants through March 31, 2022, and require compliance with various other restrictions during the covenant waiver period, including the maintenance of a minimum liquidity threshold.

John Arabia, President and CEO, stated, "We are pleased to announce another favorable amendment of our unsecured debt agreements and appreciate the continued support from our long-standing lender and noteholder relationships. The amended agreements provide the Company with incremental capacity and enhanced flexibility to pursue additional Long-Term Relevant Real Estate acquisitions. In addition, this most recent amendment positions Sunstone to better take advantage of acquisition opportunities that may arise as the industry recovers, without having to solely rely on the need to sell existing assets or raise additional equity capital."

About Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. is a lodging real estate investment trust ("REIT"). Sunstone's business is to acquire, own, asset manage and renovate or reposition hotels considered to be Long-Term Relevant Real Estate®. For further information, please visit Sunstone's website at www.sunstonehotels.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws and regulations. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "should," "will" and other similar terms and phrases, including opinions, references to assumptions and forecasts of future results. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. These risks include, but are not limited to: the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has on the Company's business and the economy, as well as the response of governments and the Company to the pandemic, and how quickly and successfully effective vaccines and therapies are distributed and administered; increased risks related to employee matters, including increased employment litigation and claims for severance or other benefits tied to termination or furloughs as a result of temporary hotel suspensions or reduced hotel operations due to COVID-19; general economic and business conditions, including a U.S. recession, trade conflicts and tariffs, regional or global economic slowdowns and any type of flu or disease-related pandemic that impacts travel or the ability to travel, including COVID-19; the need for business-related travel, including the increased use of business-related technology; rising hotel operating costs due to labor costs, workers' compensation and health-care related costs, utility costs, property and liability insurance costs, unanticipated costs such as acts of nature and their consequences and other costs that may not be offset by increased room rates; the ground, building or airspace leases for three of the hotels the Company has interests in as of the date of this release; the need for renovations, repositionings and other capital expenditures for the Company's hotels; the impact, including any delays, of renovations and repositionings on hotel operations; new hotel supply, or alternative lodging options such as timeshare, vacation rentals or sharing services such as Airbnb, in the Company's markets, which could harm its occupancy levels and revenue at its hotels; competition from hotels not owned by the Company; relationships with, and the requirements, performance and reputation of, the managers of the Company's hotels; relationships with, and the requirements and reputation of, the Company's franchisors and hotel brands; the Company's hotels may become impaired, or its hotels which have previously become impaired may become further impaired in the future, which may adversely affect its financial condition and results of operations; competition for the acquisition of hotels, and the Company's ability to complete acquisitions and dispositions; performance of hotels after they are acquired; changes in the Company's business strategy or acquisition or disposition plans; the Company's level of debt, including secured, unsecured, fixed and variable rate debt; financial and other covenants in the Company's debt and preferred stock; the impact on the Company's business of potential defaults by the Company on its debt agreements or leases; volatility in the capital markets and the effect on lodging demand or the Company's ability to obtain capital on favorable terms or at all; the Company's need to operate as a REIT and comply with other applicable laws and regulations, including new laws, interpretations or court decisions that may change the federal or state tax laws or the federal or state income tax consequences of the Company's qualification as a REIT; potential adverse tax consequences in the event that the Company's operating leases with its taxable REIT subsidiaries are not held to have been made on an arm's-length basis; system security risks, data protection breaches, cyber-attacks, including those impacting the Company's hotel managers or other third parties, and systems integration issues; other events beyond the Company's control, including climate change, natural disasters, terrorist attacks or civil unrest; and other risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's business described in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that the expectations will be attained or that any deviation will not be material. All forward-looking information provided herein is as of the date of this release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company's expectations.

This release should be read together with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Copies of these reports are available on our website at www.sunstonehotels.com and through the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System ("EDGAR") at www.sec.gov.

For Additional Information:

Bryan Giglia
Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.
(949) 382-3036

Aaron Reyes
Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.
(949) 382-3018

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SOURCE Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.

FAQ

What amendments did Sunstone Hotel Investors make to its unsecured debt agreements?

Sunstone amended its unsecured debt agreements to remove restrictions on unencumbered hotel acquisitions and eliminated mandatory prepayment requirements from asset sales or equity issuances.

How much is Sunstone's revolving credit facility worth?

The revolving credit facility is valued at $500 million.

What is the significance of the covenant waiver period for Sunstone Hotel Investors?

The covenant waiver period allows Sunstone to operate without certain financial covenants, enhancing its operational flexibility and acquisition potential.

What is the expected impact of these amendments on Sunstone's growth?

The amendments are expected to allow Sunstone to capitalize more effectively on acquisition opportunities as the hospitality industry recovers.