Blackstone Group Inc. and Starwood Capital Group’s proposed takeover of Extended Stay America Inc. is expected to pass a shareholder vote Friday despite opposition from some of its investors, Bloomberg News reported. Early results show that investors in the lodging company will approve the deal. The figures are preliminary, and shareholders could still change their vote ahead of the meeting Friday. The vote as of Thursday was extremely close. The private equity firms agreed to buy Extended Stay in March for $19.50 a share, boosting their offer by $1 per share after opposition from six shareholders, including Tarsadia Capital, which campaigned to block the deal. Tarsadia and some other investors continued to oppose the deal despite the price increase, arguing that the sales process was flawed, the timing was wrong, and the standalone prospects for the company were better than the value being offered.
