A venture of Blackstone, Centerbridge Partners and Paulson & Company has bought $300m of debt of 14 hotels owned by US-based Columbia Sussex Corporation.

The move puts Blackstone in a position to wrest control of the hotels, which it sold to Columbia Sussex for $1.4 billion in 2006.

The debt is split between a $540m securitised mortgage and $500m in mezzanine debt subordinate to the mortgage.

The 14 properties include the Atlanta Marriott Downtown, the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Airport and the Sheraton Baltimore City Center.

Columbia Sussex has more than $2bn of debt on its 62 hotels, according to The Wall Street Journal.