Chatham Financial Completes Defeasance and Hedging for $2.1 Billion JER Acquisition of Highland Hospitality

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa., July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Chatham Financialannounced today that it has assisted JER Partners in the defeasance of 3loans, with original loan amounts in excess of $244 million, covering 8properties. The defeasance of these loans played an important role in theacquisition of Highland Hospitality Corporation by an affiliate of JER fora total consideration, including debt, of more than $2.1 billion. Inaddition to managing the defeasance process, Chatham Financial facilitatedthe hedging program on the $1.6 billion in new securitized financing thatincluded a combination of interest rate swaps and caps to achieve thedesired fixed-floating mix. "We are very appreciative of Chatham's assistance in the defeasance ofHighland's existing debt," stated Alex Gilbert, Managing Director and Headof US Acquisitions for JER Partners. "Their team helped us execute theappropriate hedging strategy for the transaction and we look forward toworking with them on future deals." "This transaction allowed Chatham the opportunity to bring togetherdefeasance and hedging to add value on both the existing and newfinancing," said Traci Jervis, Chatham Financial. About Chatham Financial Chatham Financial is a consulting firm with a commitment to bringtransparency and pricing efficiency to capital markets. Chatham's breadthof services includes interest rate and currency hedging, accounting,advisory for financial institutions, capital advisory services, valuations,documentation coordination and negotiation and web based reporting. Withover 200 professionals in Pennsylvania, London, and Denver, Chathamexecuted $420 billion equivalent transactions on behalf of over 700 clientsin the last 12 months. Our market presence in a wide variety of financingstructures and transactions enables us to be fully aware of market andstructural developments. For further information Joy Peterson 610.925.3120 marketing@chathamfinancial.com