Starwood Capital Bidding for Corus: Report

Private-equity firm Starwood Capital Group is bidding on assets of Corus Bankshares(CORS Quote), the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

Barry Sternlicht, who controls Starwood Capital, wouldn't name the bank in a conference call Monday but said his firm was bidding on a bank that is heavily concentrated in real-estate lending and has more than 110 construction loans. People with knowledge of the matter identified the bank as Corus, the Journal reports.

Starwood is one of several companies that have shown interest in Corus, which focuses on condominium construction lending in South Florida and other now-troubled housing markets, the newspaper reports. ...