Hyatt Hotels Corp. joined a growing throng of reported bidders for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.
The Stamford, Conn.-based Starwood owns 1,200 properties globally, including the Westin, the W and St. Regis brands. It was valued at $12 billion at the start of Tuesday trading. Hyatt is valued at $7.2 billion.
The company could sell for as much as $100 per share, $17 billion, according to Harry Curtis of Nomura Securities.
“My hunch is they (Hyatt) would be able to (buy Starwood). They could pull it off but it would be a stretch,” Argus Research Group analyst John Staszak told Reuters.
Starwood began to contemplate the sale three months ago, and has reached out to bidders including InterContinental Hotel Group and Wyndham Worldwide, a source told Reuters.
Two Chinese companies – Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels and HNA, the parent of Hainan Airlines — and the country’s sovereign wealth fund are also mulling bids. [Reuters] – Ariel Stulberg