Gaylord Entertainment Co., GET -2.48% owner of four
massive conference resorts, will sell its brand and management operations toMarriott International Inc. MAR -2.62% for $210 million and convert its
property holdings to a real-estate investment trust.
The sale is a result of a strategic review Gaylord
started early this year in reaction to prodding from its largest shareholder,
Texas billionaire Robert Rowling. Mr. Rowling's TRT Holdings Inc., which owns
the Omni Hotels & Resorts chain, was among four bidders for all or parts of
Gaylord before Gaylord opted for the plan unveiled Thursday. A spokeswoman for
TRT declined to comment.
Gaylord owns massive resort convention centers with
1,400 to 2,900 rooms each, including the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, the
Gaylord National in National Harbor, Md., the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine,
Texas, and the Gaylord Palms in Orlando, Fla. As part of the deal, announced
Thursday, Marriott is getting 35-year contracts to manage each of Gaylord's
resorts at a 2% base management fee.
Gaylord had been planning to develop a 1,500-room
resort in Aurora, Colo. But the company is revisiting these plans because of
its conversion to a REIT. Read more
Individuals
can invest in REITs either by purchasing their shares directly on an open
exchange or by investing in a mutual fund that specializes in public real
estate. An additional benefit to investing in REITs is the fact that many are
accompanied by dividend reinvestment plans (DRIPs). Among other things, REITs
invest in shopping malls, office buildings, apartments, warehouses and hotels.
Some REITs will invest specifically in one area of real estate - shopping
malls, for example - or in one specific region, state or country. Investing in
REITs is a liquid, dividend-paying means of participating in the real estate
market.
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