Hotel Investor Firms to Hire Investment Bankers:...

Hotel Investor Firms to Hire Investment Bankers: Hotel Investors Trust and Hotel Investors Corp., two companies whose shares are paired on the New York Stock Exchange, said they plan to hire investment bankers to consider ways for boosting the shares’ value. Hotel Investors Trust, based in Woodland Hills, invests in lodging properties and Hotel Investors Corp. is a hotel management concern. The companies said they took the action because their shares have been underpriced and do not reflect “their intrinsic value.” After the announcement last week, the companies’ shares jumped 15% to $9.50 a share; they closed Monday at $9.25 a share. Before the announcement, the shares had been trading near their lowest level for the past year. The companies gave no specifics about what steps might be taken. But the bankers likely would consider a financial restructuring of the companies, a share buyback and the sale of part or all of the companies, among other things.