SPOKANE, WA— WestCoast Hospitality Corp. has entered into an agreement for the sale of an 80.1% interest in the WHC Building here for $10.6 million. The purchasers, an investment group, are located in Oregon and California. WestCoast will retain ownership of the remaining 19.9% interest and will continue management and leasing services for the property through its G&B Real Estate Services division. The transaction is expected to close by the end of this month, pending certain approvals. The WHC Building, located on the north bank of the Spokane River, and adjacent to the WestCoast Grand Hotel, is a six-story, 100,350-square-foot Class A office building. WestCoast developed the building and opened it in 1985 as its corporate headquarters. The building is currently 98% occupied by tenants including Avista Energy, IBM, Potlatch Corp. and Morgan Stanley. The sale is part of a previously announced strategy by WestCoast to sell non-core assets while maintaining sliver ownership interests and management responsibilities, with proceeds of the sales used for debt repayment and further growth. WestCoast expects to add nine to 19 hotels this years through franchising and sliver equity investments, while growing its commercial and residential management portfolio and its TicketsWest entertainment division. The sale is expected to result in a before tax gain of approximately $4.9 million, of which $1.7 million will be deferred over six years due to the continued lease by WestCoast for its corporate headquarters. The immediate net gain is expected to contribute approximately $0.16 earnings per share in first-quarter 2002. Previous financial guidance for the quarter did not include the potential impact of the sale; revised guidance for eps for the first quarter is between $0.02 and $0.08, compared to $0.05 in the first quarter of 2001. Guidance for eps in the year 2002 is being increased to a range of $0.73 to $0.92, compared to $0.59 for the year 2001.
