Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP Advises Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. in Agreement to Sell Portfolio of Hotels to Host Marriott, Inc.

Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP is representing Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. in connection with its agreement, announced today, to sell a portfolio of hotels to Host Marriott, Inc. for approximately $4 billion in stock-and-cash, including debt assumption. The properties, which are expected to generate approximately $376 million in EBITDA in 2005, include 28 hotels in North America and 10 international properties. Sidley has represented Starwood for more than 30 years, including in its $14.6 billion acquisition of ITT Corporation and its $2 billion acquisition of Westin Hotels & Resorts, both completed in 1998. In connection with the transaction, the firm advised Starwood on, among other things, the sale of Starwood's public real estate investment trust and Starwood's Sheraton Holding Corporation (formerly known as ITT Corporation). Before the transaction closes, attorneys in virtually all of Sidley's offices will have supported Starwood in this international transaction. Lead Sidley lawyer for this transaction, Michael Gordon, a partner in the Chicago office, commented, "We have worked with Starwood management, including General Counsel Ken Siegel, for several months on this complex, international transaction which furthers their corporate strategy of achieving success in the lifestyle and resort industry. We look forward to continuing to represent Starwood in their many industry-leading transactions." Sidley attorneys who advised Starwood on this matter include: Chicago office: Michael A. Gordon, Robert L. Verigan, Theresa M. Allen, Deborah Y. Santiago, Joshua O'Donnell, Jonathan C. Babb, Sara Horvath and Julie Weber (corporate), Anthony J. Aiello, Paul D. Monson, Elizabeth K. McCloy, Paul S. Lim and Ingrid A. Holewinski (real estate), Stewart R. Shepherd and Elizabeth S. Schultz (employee benefits), James D. Weiss, Marianne L. Hohman and Jayme McKellop (labor & employment), Laura L. Leonard and Roshna Balasubramanian (environmental), Marc E. Raven (U.S. competition). New York office: Paul R. Wysocki and Angelica Kwan (tax), Paul C. Adams and Gabriel Saltarelli (corporate). Los Angeles office: Sherwin L. Samuels (corporate) and Ivy Li Jones (tax). Washington, D.C. office: Lawrence R. Fullerton (U.S. competition). International offices: Stephen Spinks and Ken Daly (Brussels -- E.U. competition), Mark Menhennet, Robert L. Asher, Kirsten Bradby, Sheena McCaffrey and Jonathan Wallace (London -- corporate), Eric Ho (Hong Kong -- corporate finance), Zhengyu Tang (Shanghai -- corporate) and Kazunobu Nishi (Tokyo -- business transactions). Starwood attorneys leading the transaction are: Kenneth S. Siegel, Executive Vice President and General Counsel; Jared Finkelstein, Senior Vice President -- Law; Brian Cameron, Senior Vice President -- Legal; Michael Dojlidko, Director and Associate General Counsel; and Nadine Greenwood, Vice President and Associate General Counsel. Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP is one of the world's largest full-service law firms, with more than 1,550 lawyers practicing in 14 U.S. and international cities. Sidley was named the Number One-Ranked U.S. Law Firm for Overall Client Service in 2002 and 2004 in surveys of Fortune 1000 executives by BTI, a Boston-based consulting and research firm. In 2005, BTI named Sidley to their Client Service Hall of Fame as one of only two law firms to rank in the Client Service Top 10 for five years in a row. Sidley received the 2005 Catalyst Award in recognition of the firm's initiative to recruit, retain and advance diverse talent.

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