Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ board of directors said it “unanimously recommends” that shareholders reject Choice Hotels International’s unsolicited buyout offer, reiterating that Choice continues to ignore “significant regulatory and business risks.”
“Choice has, once again, failed to address the major value gap and risks of their offer — which remains virtually unchanged from the terms outlined in their previous unsolicited proposal,” said Wyndham chairman Stephen Holmes.
He cited “core issues” like the uncertainties tied to an extended regulatory review, the fact that the board views the offer as inadequate from a valuation standpoint and that Choice has shown disregard for what he described as “Wyndham’s superior, standalone growth prospects.”
Holmes also accused Choice of “repeatedly proposing illusory and unrealistic offers while making inconsistent and misleading public statements.”
Concurrently, Wyndham released a new presentation outlining the proposed deal’s antitrust risks on StayWyndham.com.
Wyndham’s response comes after Choice Hotels’ launch of a hostile takeover attempt on Dec. 12. Choice announced that it had acquired an ownership position of roughly 1.5 million shares of Wyndham stock and was preparing to nominate candidates to Wyndham’s board of directors as well as starting the regulatory approval process.
Choice publicly disclosed its pursuit of Wyndham in mid-October, indicating a potential transaction value of approximately $8 billion.
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