Ryman Hospitality to buy Texas-based resort from Blackstone for $800 million

(Reuters) – Blackstone (NYSE:) Real Estate Income Trust Inc (BREIT) has agreed to sell a Texas-based resort to Ryman (NYSE:) Hospitality Properties Inc for $800 million, as the asset management giant looks to cash in on resurgent demand for leisure travel and retreat.

The deal for Texas-based JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa is expected to close in the second or third quarter of the year, the companies said on Monday.

Ryman is selling 3.5 million of its shares, which would fetch proceeds of $338 million based on Monday’s closing price, to help finance the deal. The balance would be funded via a combination of cash and debt.

A real estate investment trust focused on resorts, Ryman is betting on the “attractive and growing market with no emerging competitive supply” the resort is located in.

The company is also looking to benefit from the recovery of leisure travel and the persistence of remote working, which has allowed employees to work from their chosen retreats instead of their offices.

The deal would rake in a profit of nearly $275 million over the five years that BREIT held the resort, it said, likely bolstering investors’ confidence in the fund that was hit by a wave of redemptions late last year.

Earlier this month, Blackstone said redemption requests related to BREIT had come down in May.