Lehman Brothers and Starwood Hotels have confirmed their joint acquisiton of Le Méridien's non-UK hotels, ousting rivals Morgan Stanley and Whitehall Street, the property investment arm of Goldman Sachs, from the deal.

In November Morgan Stanley was given the mandate to sell the portfolio of more than 120 hotels following a breakdown in restructuring talks between Le Méridien's creditors and Hyatt, the US hotel chain.