• Home:
• News:
• Wyndham Hotels & Resorts:

Wyndham Exchange & Rentals(SM) to Acquire Hoseasons

By: Wyndham Hotels & Resorts |  0 Shares     126 Reads

PARSIPPANY, N.J. // PRNewswire-FirstCall // -- Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE: WYN) today announced that its Exchange & Rentals business unit, the European leader in exclusive marketing of independent holiday accommodation, has agreed to acquire Hoseasons Holdings Ltd, one of the UK's most renowned holiday brands, from HgCapital and a number of individual parties.

The acquisition price is approximately $60 million, net of estimated cash acquired. The transaction is subject to the consent of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the UK, which the companies hope to obtain before the end of the first quarter. Wyndham Worldwide expects this acquisition to be accretive in 2011.

Hoseasons, with a proud and distinguished 65-year heritage, is one of the best-known brand names in UK tourism. The company provides a wide range of holiday offerings in over 15,000 lodges, cottages, villas, caravans and boats across seven European countries.

Wyndham's European rentals business is the leading provider in exclusive marketing of independent holiday accommodation across the continent and has many of Europe's best-known holiday brands including English Country Cottages, Scottish Country Cottages, cottages4you, Welcome Cottages, Chez Nous and Canvas Holidays in the UK, and Landal GreenParks, Novasol, Dansommer and Cuendet across Northern, Central and Southern Europe. These iconic brands have a combined portfolio of over 60,000 holiday properties located in over 20 European countries.

"The purchase of Hoseasons is a great example of how we are deploying a portion of our free cash flow to supplement organic growth with opportunistic acquisitions," said Stephen P. Holmes, chairman and CEO, Wyndham Worldwide. "Hoseasons offers a strong strategic fit with our European rentals business and an attractively-priced opportunity to continue to grow our fee-for-service businesses."

"We are delighted that Hoseasons is joining the Wyndham Exchange & Rentals family," said Geoff Ballotti, CEO, Wyndham Exchange & Rentals. "Hoseasons has been providing exceptional holidays at affordable prices for 65 years. Hoseasons is a highly successful business and a consumer icon in the UK, complementing Wyndham's existing rentals brands in terms of product offering, customer service and values. This acquisition enables us to provide European vacationers with a great selection of inventory, all backed by Wyndham Worldwide, one of the most trusted names in vacation rentals."

Ian Ailles, Managing Director, European Rentals, Wyndham Exchange & Rentals said: "The addition of Hoseasons to our existing portfolio of independent holiday accommodation brands means we can offer customers the complete range of holiday experiences in Europe. The addition of the UK holiday parks completes our suite of holiday offerings; from caravans to castles, we now have it all!"

Wyndham Worldwide retained Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP for corporate legal services related to this transaction.

About Wyndham European Rentals

Wyndham's European Rentals business, part of Wyndham Exchange & Rentals and the Wyndham Worldwide family of companies (NYSE: WYN), has the largest and most diverse collection of vacation rental properties in the UK and Continental Europe. A combined portfolio of over 60,000 vacation homes – cottages, farmhouses, apartments, villas and even lighthouses and castles – are available to rent in geographic regions ranging from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea.

Wyndham's European Rentals also offer customers a complete range of vacation experiences, including beach holidays, country cottages, Tuscan farmhouses, family lodges set in forests, boating holidays, ski lodges and camping holidays with traditional gypsy roulottes.

Wyndham's European Rentals has some of the most iconic brands in the European vacation market, including Landal GreenParks, with more than 60 holiday villages offering 11,000 bungalows and chalets in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. Novasol, which includes specialist brands Cuendet and Dansommer, is the largest provider of holiday homes for Continental Europe, both in number of properties offered and in geographic spread. The Holiday Cottages Group is the number one provider of holiday homes in the UK and to UK travelers going abroad, with leading brands including cottages4you, English Country Cottages, Welcome Cottages, easycottages.com and a portfolio of Southern European homes with Villas4you. Completing the portfolio, Canvas Holidays provides a unique outdoor holiday experience for families with nearly 100 campsites in nine European countries.

About Wyndham Worldwide

As one of the world's largest hospitality companies, Wyndham Worldwide offers individual consumers and business-to-business customers a broad suite of hospitality products and services across various accommodation alternatives and price ranges through its premier portfolio of world-renowned brands. Wyndham Hotel Group encompasses approximately 7,110 franchised hotels and approximately 597,700 hotel rooms worldwide. Wyndham Exchange & Rentals offers leisure travelers, including its 3.8 million members, access to over 65,000 vacation properties located in approximately 100 countries. Wyndham Vacation Ownership develops, markets and sells vacation ownership interests and provides consumer financing to owners through its network of over 155 vacation ownership resorts serving over 820,000 owners throughout North America, the Caribbean and the South Pacific. Wyndham Worldwide, headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., employs approximately 25,000 employees globally.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, conveying management's expectations for the future, including, without limitation the information under the "Guidance", which are based on plans, estimates and projections at the time the Company makes the statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release include statements related to the closing of the transaction discussed in this release and the performance of the acquired business.

You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include general economic conditions, the economic environment for the hospitality industry, the impact of war and terrorist activity, operating risks associated with the vacation rentals business, as well as those described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on February 19, 2010. Except for the Company's ongoing obligations to disclose material information under the federal securities laws, it undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements, to report events or to report the occurrence of unanticipated events.

SOURCE Wyndham Worldwide Corporation

###

Comments:

comments powered by Disqus