LaSalle Hotel Properties Changes Course, Accepts Pebblebrook’s $5.2B Merger Offer as Blackstone Bows Out

It appears the sixth time’s a charm as LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE: LHO) has accepted Pebblebrook Hotel Trust’s (NYSE: PEB) merger proposal made in late August. The two Maryland-based hotel REITs jointly announced today that Pebblebrook will acquire all of LaSalle’s outstanding common shares in a deal valued at $5.2 billion. In accepting the unsolicited Pebblebrook bid, LaSalle has terminated its previously announced merger agreement with affiliates of The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX). Blackstone declined to revise its $4.8 billion bid, including $1.1 billion in debt, which LaSalle previously accepted in May. According to The Wall Street Journal,Blackstone is entitled to a $112 million termination fee.