Marriott International said on Monday that it had agreed to buy Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide for $12.2 billion in cash and stock, creating the world’s largest hotel company.
Under the terms of the deal, Marriott will pay $72.08 a share in cash and stock for Starwood, whose brands include Westin, the W, Sheraton and St. Regis.
“The driving force behind this transaction is growth,” Arne M. Sorenson, the Marriott president and chief executive, said in a news release. “This is an opportunity to create value by combining the distribution and strengths of Marriott and Starwood, enhancing our competitiveness in a quickly evolving marketplace.”
The combined Marriott and Starwood company will have more than 5,500 owned or franchised hotels with 1.1 million rooms around the world, and it would have posted more than $2.7 billion in fee revenue for the 12 months ended Sept. 30.
