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Wyndham Hotel Group to Acquire Tryp Hotel Brand from Sol Melia

By: Wyndham Hotels & Resorts |  1,023 Shares     101 Reads

June 07, 2010 // Franchising.com // PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE: WYN) today announced that its Wyndham Hotel Group business unit has agreed to acquire the Tryp® hotel brand from Sol Meliá Hotels & Resorts.

In addition, Wyndham will enter into a license agreement with the current 91 Tryp hotels located throughout Europe and South America that will continue to be owned, operated, managed or licensed by Sol Meliá. Wyndham Hotel Group and Sol Meliá will form a strategic alliance to work together to develop the Tryp brand globally and market the hotels cooperatively through their central reservations systems and loyalty programs.

The brand, expected to be renamed Tryp by Wyndham®, is a select-service, midmarket brand representing approximately 13,000 rooms and caters to business and leisure travelers in cosmopolitan cities including Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Lisbon, Frankfurt, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo and Montevideo.

The acquisition price is approximately $43 million (USD), subject to adjustments. The all-cash transaction is anticipated to close by the end of the second quarter, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Sol Meliá will continue to operate hotels, resorts and vacation clubs under its seven other owned brands.

"This acquisition reflects our strategy to invest in our fee-for-service businesses and supplement organic growth with complementary brands," said Stephen P. Holmes, chairman and chief executive officer of Wyndham Worldwide. "The addition of more than 90 high-performing hotels in key international cities enhances and accelerates the recent development momentum of the Wyndham Hotel Group. The transaction significantly increases our international platform, enhancing our growth opportunities, especially in Europe and Latin America."

The Tryp by Wyndham brand would join Wyndham Hotel Group and its 11 other hotel brands, which encompass nearly 7,100 hotels and 593,300 rooms in 65 countries.

"We look forward to adding the Tryp brand to our strong global portfolio and continuing our working relationship with Sol Meliá, a world-renowned company," said Wyndham Hotel Group president and chief executive officer, Eric Danziger. "Sol Meliá's leaders built a family enterprise into a successful and innovative global hotel company, providing an outstanding collection of products and services for more than 50 years. We intend to continue expanding the Tryp brand by utilizing our global development team to tap the significant growth opportunities across Europe and the Americas."

"We selected to work with Wyndham Hotel Group because of the company's reputation as a global brand-builder, which will benefit the future of the Tryp brand," said Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, vice chairman and chief executive officer of Sol Meliá. "We are proud to have nurtured this successful brand for the last 10 years. Now, this alliance will help Tryp become a truly global hotel brand by creating long-term synergies between our companies to boost Tryp Hotels to the next level."

Wyndham Worldwide retained Kirkland & Ellis LLP and DLA Piper LLP (US) for corporate legal services related to this transaction.

About Wyndham Hotel Group

Wyndham Hotel Group encompasses nearly 7,100 hotels and 593,300 rooms in 65 countries under the hotel brands: Wyndham Hotels and Resorts®, Wingate® by Wyndham, Hawthorn Suites® by Wyndham, Ramada®, Days Inn®, Super 8®, Baymont Inn & Suites®, Microtel Inns & Suites®, Howard Johnson®, Travelodge® and Knights Inn®.

All hotels are independently owned and operated excluding certain Wyndham and international Ramada hotels which are managed by an affiliate or through a joint venture partner.

About Sol Meliá

Sol Meliá was founded in 1956 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain and is one of the world's largest resort hotel chains, as well as Spain's leading hotel chain in both the business and leisure markets. It currently provides more than 300 hotels in 26 countries on 4 continents under the brands: Gran Meliá, Meliá, ME by Meliá, Innside by Meliá, Tryp, Sol, Paradisus and Sol Meliá Vacation Club.

Sol Meliá is the only travel company included in the exclusive "FTSE4GoodIbex" Spanish stock market index and is a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact. In 2008 the company approved its Global Sustainability Policy and in 2009 it was named the first "Biosphere Hotel Company" by the Responsible Tourism Institute, supported by UNESCO. That same year the company was also awarded the Prince Felipe Award for Tourism Excellence for the second time.

The company currently employs more than 33,000 people worldwide with staff from over 90 different countries. The company respects equal rights and balance in its contracting of male and female staff and approximately 10% of its workforce is made up of immigrants.

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 nearly 7,100 franchised hotels and approximately 593,300 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, 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 hotel business, risks associated with acquisitions, especially international transactions, as well as those described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on February 19, 2010 and the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed with the SEC on April 30, 2010, in each case including under such headings as "Risk Factors", and in other filings and furnishings made by the Company with the SEC from time to time. 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.

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