Choice Hotels Makes $8 Billion Bid for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

Choice Hotels is making a bid to acquire hotel giant Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.

Choice on Tuesday confirmed that it had issued a proposal to Wyndham shareholders to acquire all outstanding shares of the hotel giant. The news comes after months of discussions between the two companies, with Choice publicly sharing its proposal following Wyndham’s decision to discontinue further talks.

The proposal would give shareholders $90 per share, in cash and stock, which would be a 26% premium to the company’s 30-day volume-weighted average closing price. The proposal would come to nearly $8 billion in all for Wyndham, which operates more than 9,300 hotels across brands including Days Inn, Howard Johnson, La Quinta, Ramada, Super 8, and Travelodge.

Choice, for its part, is a smaller company than Wyndham, with a footprint of about 7,500 hotels including brands Comfort Suites, Cambria Hotels, and more. 

“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,” Choice Hotels President and CEO Patrick Pacious said in a statement.

“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,” he added.

Choice said it initially engaged Wyndham in April 2023, offering $80 per share, an offer that was rejected by Wyndham. It then boosted that offer to $85 and then, eventually to $90. Choice said that Wyndham acknowledged the offer “was in a negotiable range” but eventually made it clear it would not proceed with the deal.

The new proposal would allow Wyndham shareholders to choose either cash, stock, or a combination of the two for compensation. It would also give Wyndham two seats on Choice’s board.