While the hospitality industry has been rife with M&A, Wyndham Hotel Group has been quiet. That could change.
We reported back in 2015 that Wyndham was looking to open 50 new hotels in India by 2018. In order to do so, there was speculation that Wyndham might not do this via organic growth, but via acquisition. Specifically, buying India's Sarovar Hotels.
A deal has yet to be consummated, but news now is that it might be back on. DNA India reports of "an interesting twist in the sell-off story of Sarovar Hotels that's been playing out for over a year now."
Namely, that Wyndham, which previously had lost out due to a valuation disagreement, is now "back in the race."
Here's the timeline, as reported by DNA India.
- October 11th, reports surfaced that France's Louvre Hotels Group, which also holds 50 percent in Golden Tulip Hospitality Group in India was making a play for the hotel chain.
- However, reports are that their offering was lower than that of Wyndham.
- Now, Wyndham could be taking another swing at Sarovar. "Both Sarovar and Wyndham have reinitiated talks," sources told DNA India.
Wyndham, for its part, is not commenting.
DNA India in March reported that Sarovar's enterprise value was "pegged around Rs 330 crore and Wyndham had made an offer of Rs 270 crore."
Wyndham has more than 7,600 hotels under its umbrella of brands. Sarovar has 69 hotels across almost 50 Indian cities, and another four in Africa.