March 11 (UPI) — The months-long deal for Choice Hotels International to buy Wyndham Hotels & Resorts came to an end Monday as Choice executives stopped their planned $8 billion hostile takeover of the hotel chain.
“Since beginning this process in April 2023, Choice has attempted to engage in good-faith negotiations with Wyndham through numerous different avenues,” the company said in a statement, saying how that included “increasing the proposed offer multiple times and expressing an openness to further enhancing the offer with due diligence, offering a one-way NDA to share its confidential information with Wyndham and offering above-market regulatory protections.”
The Rockville, M.D.-based Choice Hotels — which pulled their board director candidates for election at Wyndham’s 2024 annual stockholder meeting — said that Parsippany, N.J-based Wyndham had refused to “constructively and substantively engage on terms” in the offer which expired days ago on March 8.
Wyndham’s Board Chairman Stephen Holmes said the company was “pleased that Choice has ended its hostile pursuit and proxy contest, following the expiration of its unsolicited exchange offer.”
In October, Holmes called Choice’s offer “underwhelming, highly conditional and subject to significant business, regulatory and execution risk,” adding how Choice executives were “unwilling or unable to address our concerns.”
On Monday, Market Watch reported that Choice Hotels — which operate about 7,500 properties in 46 countries — saw a stock value increase of over 7% after the company scrapped its effort to take over the rival hotel company.
If the deal was realized, it would have combined almost 17,000 properties under the Choice brand, including Radisson, Quality Inn, Days Inn, Ramada and Travelodge.
On March 3, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, called on the Federal Trade Commission to “scrutinize this deal.”
Warren — a member of the Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs — asked “Aren’t hotels expensive enough?” on X, calling Choice Hotels’ hostile takeover “a monopoly in plain sight, leading to higher costs & fewer choices for families.”
