Entertainment giant AEG plans to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to help fund a planned expansion of the L.A. Live hospitality complex in downtown Los Angeles by selling part ownership in the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels there.
AEG is looking for a partner with deep experience in the hotel industry, Vice Chairman Ted Fikre said. “Hotel operation is not our core business.”Money raised by the sale will be used to help pay for a long-planned expansion of the JW Marriott that was stalled by the pandemic, he said, and to invest in several of AEG’s business units, including ticketing and live entertainment such as music festivals and concert tours.
L.A. hotel bookings in October and November are back to 2019 levels, well above the national average. Hotel sales exceeded $38 billion last year, according to JLL, up 395% from 2020 when the pandemic virtually froze travel for months and threatened to put hoteliers out of business. The Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott were among the hotels that temporarily closed.