Aimbridge Hospitality has added four new managers to its board following the company’s debt restructuring deal.
Aimbridge, the world’s largest third-party hotel management company, announced four new members to its board of managers alongside current board members, Steve Joyce, chairman of the board, and Craig Smith, CEO of Aimbridge, according to a news release.
The company’s new board members include Glenn Alba, co-founder and managing member of TMGOC Ventures; Rich Gomel, a partner and chief investment officer of Two Sigma Real Estate; Carrie McIntyre, a partner and the CEO at VIRIDIS Fund Solutions; and Emanuel Pearlman, chair and CEO of Liberation Investment Group.
The new managers bring impressive track records and significant expertise across hospitality, real estate and finance, Smith said in the release.
“We’re now in a position of strength with one of the healthiest balance sheets in the industry,” Smith said. “Looking ahead, the goal and game plan are clear — deliver results for our owners and brand partners. We’re doubling down on execution, ramping up investments and accelerating innovation in the services that set us apart. It all comes down to driving even better performance across our properties and portfolio and creating an even stronger Aimbridge.”
In mid-January, Aimbridge announced it had reached a new deal with its first lien lenders, restructuring more than $1.1 billion in debt into equity. As part of the deal, the first lien lenders also agreed to provide an infusion of $100 million in new capital. In the end, the deal is reducing Aimbridge’s outstanding debt from $1.3 billion to $210 million.
In an interview after the restructuring, Smith told HNN the deal took a “weight off our shoulders,” giving the company the capital it needed to further invest in its long-term strategies.
Speaking at ALIS, Smith said now that Aimbridge’s capital stack has been fixed, it’s able to move forward and grow in the right way.
“My favorite word going forward, in some ways, is going to be discipline,” he said. “We have to be disciplined about where we grow and how we grow and to make sure that growth is accretive to the company and not too fast.”
Plano, Texas-based Aimbridge manages a portfolio of more than 1,000 hotels across 23 countries and more than 80 lodging brands.