Starwood Hotels, Lehman Brothers and Starwood Capital Sign Agreements to Make Acquisition Proposals for Le Meridien

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 28, 2005--Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT - News), today announced that:

• Affiliates of Lehman Brothers and Starwood Capital Group Global LLC have entered into a non-binding letter of intent to form a joint venture which would propose to acquire the owned and leased hotel portfolio of Le Meridien (with the exception of the Forte Village in Sardinia which would be acquired by an affiliate of Lehman Brothers); and
• Starwood Hotels has entered into a non-binding agreement with the Lehman Brothers/Starwood Capital joint venture whereby Starwood Hotels would propose to acquire the Le Meridien brand and related management and franchise business from Le Meridien. Starwood Hotels would also enter into management agreements for the 36 owned and leased Le Meridien property portfolio to be acquired by Lehman Brothers and SCG with such hotels continuing to be operated under their current flags.

The brand and hotel portfolio acquisition proposals will be presented to the Le Meridien board as part of an overall restructuring plan for Le Meridien. The transaction is subject to the execution of definitive agreements, the approval by the boards or internal committees, as applicable, of Starwood Hotels, Lehman Brothers, Starwood Capital and Le Meridien, regulatory approvals, consultation where appropriate with employee representatives and other customary terms and conditions. Other terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

London-based Le Meridien is a global hotel group with a portfolio of more than 130 luxury and upscale hotels in 56 countries worldwide. The majority of its properties are located in the world's top cities and resorts throughout Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 750 properties in more than 80 countries and 120,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. With internationally renowned brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts including: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, Sheraton®, Westin®, Four Points® by Sheraton, W brands, as well as Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information please visit .

(Note: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities regulations. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and involve risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. These risks and uncertainties are presented in detail in our filings with the SEC. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that these expectations will be attained or that results and events will not materially differ. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.)