On June 8, 2015, the Company acquired the 643-room Phoenician, a Luxury Collection resort, for $400 million. The hotel boasts a scenic 300-acre setting at the base of Camelback Mountain with outstanding views of the local natural landmark. The AAA Five-Diamond, Forbes Four-Star rated property is ideally located in one of the premium resort markets in the southwest, within close proximity of the nightlife, galleries, museums and businesses of downtown Scottsdale. The resort features nine food and beverage outlets, approximately 83,500 square feet of indoor meeting space, and world-class recreation facilities, including a 27-hole championship golf course, seven outdoor pools and a 25,000 square-foot spa and fitness center. It is one of only a handful of iconic luxury destination resorts in the country that cater to both high-end transient and group customers. While the current hotel site allows for future residential development and up to 40 additional rooms, the purchase also includes two adjacent parcels of land totaling over nine acres zoned for residential development. The Company plans to undertake a comprehensive renovation that will strategically occur during the hotel's seasonal, low-occupancy summer periods to minimize disruption. Starwood will continue to operate the hotel under The Luxury Collection® brand flag. Similar to the operational success the Company has achieved in markets where it owns two or more comparable hotels, the Company believes the Phoenician will benefit from synergies with its Westin Kierland Resort, which is also operated by Starwood.
The Company also announced that on June 3, 2015, it completed the sale of the Sheraton Needham for $54 million. On June 5, 2015, the Company's European Joint Venture sold the Crowne Plaza Amsterdam, for €106.2 million, which includes the FF&E reserve. The Company expects that two additional assets will be sold this quarter, subject to standard closing conditions, for a combined purchase price of approximately $90 million, as the buyer has a significant deposit at risk.
Earlier in the quarter, the Company bought back 5.55 million shares of its common stock under its share repurchase program for approximately $111.7 million.
The Company has also made progress on several of its previously announced strategic asset repositioning initiatives. Upon completion of the renovations at the Four Seasons Philadelphia later this year, the hotel will be renamed 'The Logan' and join the Curio – A Collection by Hilton for unique hotels. Similarly, following its repositioning plan, The Ritz-Carlton Phoenix will be renamed 'The Camby' and join Marriott's Autograph Collection. Finally, the Company has instituted an operating change from brand management to independent third-party management at another one of its hotels. This property will be identified on the Company's second quarter earnings call.
"I am very excited to announce the progress we have made on a number of fronts. I am proud of our team's accomplishments to create value for stockholders through a major accretive acquisition at a significant discount to replacement cost, asset sales that increase the overall quality of our portfolio, stock repurchases and continuing progress on our redevelopment projects." said W. Edward Walter, president and CEO.
This press release contains information about pending transactions, and there can be no assurance that these transactions will be completed.