Choice Hotels Abandons $8 Billion Hostile Takeover Bid for Wyndham in the Hospitality Industry

Choice Hotels has called off its $8 billion hostile takeover bid for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, which was first announced five months ago. Prior to the public announcement, Wyndham had already turned down four offers from Choice, starting with a bid of $80 per share in April 2023, followed by $85 in May and $90 in August. In November, Choice made another offer of $86 per share, which Wyndham considered a step back.

Despite the rejections, Choice continued to pursue the deal, giving Wyndham shareholders until last Friday to tender their shares. However, the support was insufficient, leading Choice to withdraw its offer and slate.

If the bid had been successful, Choice would have replaced Wyndham’s board members with its own directors and taken control of the company. On Monday, Wyndham had urged its shareholders to back its own eight director nominees, arguing that Choice’s offer was opportunistic and that Wyndham continues to outperform Choice in key operating metrics.

The potential acquisition would have resulted in a significant merger in the budget hotel chain sector, combining the fifth and sixth largest hotel groups in North America to create the continent’s largest budget hotel franchisor.

The end of this saga has seen Choice’s share price increase by 8.2% since Friday’s market close, while Wyndham’s share price has fallen by 1%.

Source: forbes.com

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