Sotherly Hotels authorizes $10 million stock repurchase program

The board of directors of Williamsburg-based Sotherly Hotels Inc. has authorized the repurchase of up to $10 million of its outstanding common stock.

The company expects to complete the repurchase program by Dec. 31, 2017 unless it is extended by the board of directors.

As of Nov. 8, Sotherly had about 14.9 million shares outstanding.

“The board’s approval of this program reflects our confidence in the company’s future,” Drew Sims, its CEO and chairman, said in a statement. “Repurchasing stock is one means of underscoring our commitment to enhancing stockholder value.”

Sotherly also announced that it has secured a $35 million loan with MONY Life Insurance Co., collateralized by a first mortgage on the Hilton Wilmington Riverside Hotel in Wilmington, N.C. 
The loan carries a 10-year term, a fixed interest rate of 4.25 percent, and amortizes on a 25-year schedule after a one-year, interest-only period.

Proceeds from the loan were used to repay the existing first mortgage and to pay closing costs, to fund the planned renovation of the hotel and for general corporate purposes.

Founded in 2004, Sotherly is a real estate investment trust focused on the acquisition, renovation, upbranding and repositioning of full-service hotels in the South.  Currently, the company’s portfolio includes 12 hotel properties, with 3,011 rooms.