NEW YORK— Two Goldman Sachs funds teamed with Starwood Capital Group in a deal to buy National Golf Properties, the largest publicly traded golf course owner, and an affiliate for about $1.1 billion, including debt repayment, reported crainsny.com. National Golf is a real estate investment trust that owns more than 100 golf courses in 22 states, with the majority of them in Texas, Arizona and California. American Golf, a course operator whose portfolio of about 300 facilities includes nearly all of National Golfs properties, merged with the company earlier this year after American Golf said it wouldn’t be able to make its lease payments. Both companies are based in Santa Monica, CA. The investor group comprises Goldman Sachs GS Capital Partners 2000, Goldman Sachs Whitehall Street Real Estate Fund 2001, and Starwood Capital Groups SOF VI U.S. Holdings. Barry Sternlicht, who is also CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, heads Starwood Capital. SOURCE: crainsny.com
