Marriott and Starwood Create the World’s Largest Hotel Company

Owners of more than 97 percent of Marriott’s shares and more than 95 percent of Starwood’s shares have supported Marriott’s offer to acquire Starwood, valued at approximately $12.4 billion, the two companies announced on Friday.

Shareholders of Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Marriott International have endorsed the merger of these two companies, which will create the largest hotel company in the world with approximately 5,700 hotels.

Owners of more than 97 percent of Marriott’s shares and more than 95 percent of Starwood’s shares have supported Marriott’s offer to acquire Starwood, valued at approximately $12.4 billion, the two companies announced on Friday. This has ended months of uncertainty regarding the transaction, as until recently, a consortium led by the Chinese insurance company Anbang was also competing to acquire Starwood.

Two weeks ago, Anbang offered nearly $14 billion for Starwood, more than Marriott, but after just a few days, the Chinese company withdrew its offer, which, if realized, would have represented the largest acquisition of a Chinese company in the U.S. to date. This opened the way for Marriott to acquire the American luxury hotel chain. Marriott stated on Friday that the transaction is expected to be completed by mid-year.

– “Our teams continue with the integration plans of the two companies,” said Marriott’s CEO Arne Sorensen.