Barry Sternlicht told CNBC on Thursday he's concerned about the flood of special purpose acquisition companies coming into the market, warning the quality of some deals could be bad for investors.
Sternlicht, chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group, has himself been involved with starting six SPACs. He said, "Three that are completed and three that are filed."
In an interview on "Squawk Box," Sternlicht said that not at all SPACs are created equal.
"We've returned 20% compounded for 30 years at Starwood Capital Group in real estate, and we know how to structure deals. We know how to evaluate deals," the billionaire investor said.
"There's a lot of rookies out there and just beware," he said, without mentioning any specific names. "I hope the public is not being led to slaughter."