Choice Hotels Unveils Multi-Billion-Dollar Offer to Buy Wyndham

Choice Hotels outlined its new proposal to acquire Wyndham Hotels and Resorts for around $7.8 billion in cash and stock.

According to Reuters.com, Choice’s effort to purchase Wyndham would create a budget hotel giant in the United States as demand for affordable hotels remains high, especially as inflation and recession impact consumer spending on travel.

As part of Choice’s proposal, Wyndham shareholders would receive $90.00 per share, including $49.50 in cash and 0.324 shares of its common stock for each share owned. The offer represents a 30 percent premium to Wyndham’s last closing price.

On Monday, Choice had a total market capital of $6.29 billion, while Wyndham's stood at $5.82 billion. Shares of Wyndham rose about 22 percent before the bell due to the news.

Choice Hotels President and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pacious released an official statement about the news of a purchase proposal with Wyndham: 

“We have long respected Wyndham's business and are confident that this combination would significantly accelerate both Choice's and Wyndham's long-term organic growth strategy for the benefit of all stakeholders. For franchisees, the transaction would bring Choice's proven franchisee success system to a broader set of owners, enabling them to benefit from Choice's world-class reservation platform and proprietary technology to drive cost savings and greater investment returns. Additionally, the value-driven leisure and business traveler would benefit from the combined company's rewards program, which would be on par with the top two global hotel rewards programs, enabling them to receive greater value and access to a broader selection of options across stay occasions and price points."

"A few weeks ago, Choice and Wyndham were in a negotiable range on price and consideration, and both parties have a shared recognition of the value opportunity this potential transaction represents. We were therefore surprised and disappointed that Wyndham decided to disengage. While we would have preferred to continue discussions with Wyndham in private, following their unwillingness to proceed, we feel there is too much value for both companies' franchisees, shareholders, associates, and guests to not continue pursuing this transaction. Importantly, we remain convinced of both the many benefits of the combination and our ability to complete it.”

In May, a report suggested that Choice had expressed interest in acquiring Wyndham, according to The Wall Street Journal. The companies were not in serious discussions at the time, but officials said then that a potential deal would create a budget hotel franchisor that would likely be the largest in the U.S.

The report from earlier this year said that if company officials representing Wyndham were not interested in a potential merger, executives from Choice would appeal to Wyndham’s stakeholders about a possible deal.

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