Marriott agrees $12.2bn merger with Sheraton hotels owner

Cash and stock tie-up between Starwood and Marriott will create world’s largest hotelier with 5,500 properties and more than 1.1m rooms

Marriott International is buying its rival Starwood, owner of the W and Sheraton chains, for $12.2bn in a deal that will create the world’s largest hotelier.

The new company would own 5,500 properties and more than 1.1m rooms, uniting Starwood’s lifestyle brands including Westin, Le Méridien and St Regis with Marriott’s two dozen brands including Marriott’s Courtyard, Ritz-Carlton and Fairfield Inn. The next largest hotel company is Hilton Worldwide, which has 4,400 properties and about 720,000 rooms.

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from Mergers and acquisitions | The Guardian http://ift.tt/1X2pyan