Western Alliance Bancorp. in Phoenix has agreed to buy GE Capital's hotel franchise finance loan portfolio.
The $14 billion-asset Western Alliance said in a press release Tuesday that it will gain $1.4 billion in outstanding loans and 35 employees based in Scottsdale, Ariz. Western Alliance did not disclose the price. The deal, which only includes U.S. loans and operations, is expected to close next month.
"This acquisition gives Western Alliance the opportunity to establish a new presence in the attractive risk-adjusted return, select-service hotel industry," Robert Sarver, Western Alliance's chairman and chief executive, said in the release. "The exceptional underwriting and credit management strength of GE Capital's franchise finance team, the terms of the transaction and Western Alliance's executives' experience in the hotel space, makes this acquisition both financially and strategically compelling on behalf of our shareholders."
Western Alliance said it expects the deal to be immediately accretive to its earnings per share. The company also said that the portfolio, which does not include any nonperforming loans, has a yield of 4.8%.
