The Hyatt Corp. announced plans to buy the 134-unit AmeriSuites hotel chain in a deal reportedly worth more than $600 million.
Hyatt is buying the units from owner The Blackstone Group.
The deal will add mid-range, affordable properties catering to business and convention travelers, Thomas Pritzker, chairman and CEO of Hyatt told the Associated Press.
The transaction is expected to close in early January, company officials said.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Chicago Tribune and The Wall Street Journal reported that Hyatt was likely to pay in excess of $600 million for the New Jersey-based company.
“Growth potential in the upscale limited service category is significant both in the U.S. and internationally,” said Steve Goldman, Hyatt’s executive vice president of acquisitions and development. He added:
“Hyatt will analyze opportunities for expanding the new brand in strategic markets around the world.”
The move is a key part of the company’s plan to reorganize into Global Hyatt Corp., a new parent company that includes real estate activities and corporate functions, officials said.
Together, Hyatt Hotels Corp. and Hyatt International Corp. own or operate 212 upscale hotels and resorts with annual revenues of about $5 billion, with 58% of their properties located in the United States, Canada or the Caribbean.
Report by David Wilkening
