# SPG Gets Unsolicited Offer



## Ken555 (Mar 14, 2016)

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...-gets-unsolicited-bid-from-group-of-companies




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## thinze3 (Mar 14, 2016)

On Marriott's site as well.
http://news.marriott.com/2016/03/ma...th-starwood-hotels-and-resorts-worldwide.html


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## blondietink (Mar 14, 2016)

Not too sure how I feel about the potential for a Chinese SPG.


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## lorenmd (Mar 14, 2016)

it's a difference of about 2 billion but it's up to the shareholders.  i think they will stick with Marriott but ask them to up their offer a tad


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## pacman777 (Mar 14, 2016)

blondietink said:


> Not too sure how I feel about the potential for a Chinese SPG.



I don't think you would notice a difference even if it was owned by a foreign investor. This is better news I think than getting consolidated into Marriott and the rewards program eventually getting combined. Keeping these two major hotel companies separate is best for consumers as well as from a timeshare owner perspective.


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## Ty1on (Mar 14, 2016)

blondietink said:


> Not too sure how I feel about the potential for a Chinese SPG.



This is an insurance company, not a hotel company.  They would hold it as a portfolio investment.  You'd likely see little change.


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## alohakevin (Mar 14, 2016)

Ty1on said:


> This is an insurance company, not a hotel company.  They would hold it as a portfolio investment.  You'd likely see little change.



Exactly. This is a holding company more concerned with realestate vs brand. The bottom line will be the bottom line. IMO


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## bizaro86 (Mar 14, 2016)

Ty1on said:


> This is an insurance company, not a hotel company.  They would hold it as a portfolio investment.  You'd likely see little change.



They're also buying Strategic Hotels (a luxury hotel REIT), so you might see some really nice places show up under Starwoods various brands (St Regis?) if they decided they'd rather manage their assets and pay the fee to themselves. 

Strategic properties: http://strategichotels.com/portfolio.php


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## CatLovers (Mar 14, 2016)

bizaro86 said:


> They're also buying Strategic Hotels (a luxury hotel REIT), so you might see some really nice places show up under Starwoods various brands (St Regis?) if they decided they'd rather manage their assets and pay the fee to themselves.
> 
> Strategic properties: http://strategichotels.com/portfolio.php



Hmm, I believe that St. Regis is already under the Starwood umbrella.  I know that I have stayed at several St.R's on both SPG Awards and paid stays, and always been recognized as a SPG Elite member.


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## Sugarcubesea (Mar 14, 2016)

lorenmd said:


> it's a difference of about 2 billion but it's up to the shareholders.  i think they will stick with Marriott but ask them to up their offer a tad



I think the shareholders will take the 2 billion


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## SueDonJ (Mar 14, 2016)

Sugarcubesea said:


> I think the shareholders will take the 2 billion



Even if they're aware that it may cost them individually?  (I didn't know this until reading it here in a post on the Marriott forum, still don't know anything more about it, but sure seems like it could be important.)


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## Ty1on (Mar 14, 2016)

SueDonJ said:


> Even if they're aware that it may cost them individually?  (I didn't know this until reading it here in a post on the Marriott forum, still don't know anything more about it, but sure seems like it could be important.)



Yes, if it's a stock swap, there is no capital gain realized until stock is sold.  The Chinese deal amounts to selling the stock to them, so this would be a capital gains event.


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## dsmrp (Mar 14, 2016)

Per several of the news sources, Starwood would have to pay Marriott $400 Mil to back out, or even just not recommend Marriott to a shareholder vote. That's a lot of money......and what if deal to the Chinese group falls through? Either deal with Marriott and Chinese group would have still have to pass SEC.


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## bizaro86 (Mar 14, 2016)

CatLovers said:


> Hmm, I believe that St. Regis is already under the Starwood umbrella.  I know that I have stayed at several St.R's on both SPG Awards and paid stays, and always been recognized as a SPG Elite member.



Right. I was meaning that if they buy Starwood, they might want to convert their hotels to brands they would own ao they don't pay fees to a third party. For most of them, I think St Regis would be the logical SPG brand to convert them to. They are very high end.


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## Ty1on (Mar 14, 2016)

bizaro86 said:


> Right. I was meaning that if they buy Starwood, they might want to convert their hotels to brands they would own ao they don't pay fees to a third party. For most of them, I think St Regis would be the logical SPG brand to convert them to. They are very high end.



I don't think you would want to rebrand a Ritz, Four Seasons, or Fairmont.....


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## dioxide45 (Mar 14, 2016)

CatLovers said:


> Hmm, I believe that St. Regis is already under the Starwood umbrella.  I know that I have stayed at several St.R's on both SPG Awards and paid stays, and always been recognized as a SPG Elite member.



I think what bizaro86 is suggesting is that they are buying the underlying hotel real estate. The hotels are still affiliated with Starwood, just owned by the Chinese company.


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## Scott & Laura (Mar 14, 2016)

Marriott deal offers deal to Starwood shareholders stock swap in a hotel chain that is on an upward growth curve for several years---

The Chinese company offers cash with strings attached---It has been reported at 13  billion and other places 14 billion then if they go with China they pay 400 million to Marriott

One thing I noticed that disturbed me was that Marriott's RevPar is $132.30 and Starwoods is only $121.57  Marriott wants to up Starwoods to $132.30  One way to do that is raise prices, devalue points and reduce benefits  ---  I hope not 


Scott


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## Jason245 (Mar 14, 2016)

Chinese will change nothing. . This is best bet to current customers. . I don't see any positives from the Marriott merger for customers. 



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## OKPACIFIC (Mar 14, 2016)

*impact on IILG sale*

Any idea if the Anbang consortium could nix the Interval International deal if the were successful in acquiring the  Starwood hotel side?.


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## dioxide45 (Mar 14, 2016)

OKPACIFIC said:


> Any idea if the Anbang consortium could nix the Interval International deal if the were successful in acquiring the  Starwood hotel side?.



I don't think so. It looks like both deals would be contingent on Starwood spinning off the timeshare segment. Though this new deal may make Interval Leisure Group nervous, it would put majority ownership of its outstanding shares in the hands of Anbang Insurance Group Co.


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## Debbie118 (Mar 18, 2016)

*Anbang to buy Starwood*

CNBC just announced that Anbang will buy Starwood for $78.00 cash. Starwood needs to allow Marriott 5 days to counter. If the Marriott deal falls through they will receive 400 million for there exposure. Will Marriot counter offer?


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## dsmrp (Mar 18, 2016)

Debbie118 said:


> CNBC just announced that Anbang will buy Starwood for $78.00 cash. Starwood needs to allow Marriott 5 days to counter. If the Marriott deal falls through they will receive 400 million for there exposure. Will Marriot counter offer?



Wow fast find! Thanks for the update. The article predicts Marriott will counter. Interesting development.


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## pacman777 (Mar 18, 2016)

Keeping Starwood separate from Marriott is best for consumers and for SVN timeshare owners. Glad to hear they are going with Anbang bid. Will see if Marriott raises their bid but hoping they don't end up acquiring Starwood.


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## dsmrp (Mar 18, 2016)

pacman777 said:


> Keeping Starwood separate from Marriott is best for consumers and for SVN timeshare owners. Glad to hear they are going with Anbang bid. Will see if Marriott raises their bid but hoping they don't end up acquiring Starwood.




Agree, competition is good.  And less likely for devaluation of SPG points. OK I'm not giving up my Starwood credit card yet.


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## LarryAck (Mar 18, 2016)

Unfortunately Marriott has already announced they will counter.  They have 5 days to accomplish this.


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## Julian926 (Mar 18, 2016)

Makes me wonder if my SPG gold status from SVN would get eliminated if HOT merged with Marriott.


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## Ken555 (Mar 18, 2016)

Sheraton owner Starwood set to accept offer from China's Anbang

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-starwood-hotels-m-a-anbang-idUSKCN0WK1I7


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## Lansdowne (Mar 18, 2016)

I think this is very good for those of us who own Starwood and Marriott Timeshares!


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## pacman777 (Mar 18, 2016)

As I mentioned in my earlier post, this article agrees the Anbang acquisition is much better for consumers:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/trave...gbang-triangle-what-means-consumers/81966308/


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## dioxide45 (Mar 18, 2016)

pacman777 said:


> Keeping Starwood separate from Marriott is best for consumers and for SVN timeshare owners. Glad to hear they are going with Anbang bid. Will see if Marriott raises their bid but hoping they don't end up acquiring Starwood.



I think an Anbang acquisition would be better for the mid and lower level corporate management and employees. It would seem under a merger with Marriott, many of these jobs would be eliminated. The higher level executives would probably get golden parachutes.


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## DavidnRobin (Mar 19, 2016)

Starwood / Vistana / ILG Update
http://www.businesswire.com/news/ho...Resorts-Announces-Details-Completion-Spin-off

March 18, 2016 04:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time
STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) (“Starwood”) today announced that its Board of Directors has set a record date of March 28, 2016, for the proposed spin-off of its vacation ownership business, Vistana Signature Experiences, Inc. (“Vistana”).

Under the terms of the spin-off, Starwood will distribute all of its shares of Vistana to its stockholders of record as of the record date by means of a stock distribution. As previously announced, immediately following the spin-off, Vistana will merge with a wholly owned subsidiary of Interval Leisure Group, Inc. (“ILG”), as a result of which the shares of Vistana common stock previously distributed will automatically be cancelled and converted into the right to receive shares of ILG common stock. The distribution ratio is expected to be one share of Vistana common stock for each share of Starwood common stock. No fractional shares of ILG common stock will be issued in the merger and Starwood stockholders will receive cash in lieu of any fractional shares.

The spin-off and merger are expected to close on or around April 30, 2016, subject to the satisfaction of certain remaining conditions including, among other things, the approval by ILG stockholders at a special meeting (scheduled for April 20, 2016) of ILG’s issuance of stock in connection with the merger of Vistana with a wholly owned subsidiary of ILG.

Upon completion of the merger, Starwood stockholders will collectively own approximately 55% of the shares of the combined company on a fully-diluted basis, with existing shareholders of ILG collectively owning approximately 45% of the combined company on a fully-diluted basis. The exact exchange ratio will be determined at the time of the distribution.

No action is required by Starwood stockholders to receive their shares of ILG common stock in the merger. Holders of Starwood common stock will not be required to surrender their shares of Starwood common stock or pay for any shares of ILG common stock that they receive and will retain all of their shares of Starwood common stock and associated rights.


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## Jason245 (Mar 21, 2016)

Marriott is back to buying starwood again.

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## okwiater (Mar 21, 2016)

NEW YORK (AP) - Marriott won over Starwood with a sweetened bid worth more than $14.4 billion just days after a Chinese insurance company appeared to steal it away from the hotel chain with a more lucrative offer.

Starwood, which owns Sheraton, Westin and St. Regis, over the weekend became the first U.S. hotel operator to gain access to Cuba, a day before the arrival of President Barack Obama. It is the first visit to Cuba by a sitting president in almost 90 years as relations between the two nations thaw.

The revised deal would give Starwood shareholders $21 in cash and 0.80 shares of Marriott International Inc. Class A stock for each Starwood share. Starwood shareholders are also expected to get Interval Leisure Group stock valued at $5.83 per share. Taken together, that would value Starwood stock at $85.36 per share, or about $14.41 billion.

Just days ago, China's Anbang put up an offer of $83.83 for each Starwood share, or approximately $14.15 billion. Starwood stockholders would have received $78 in cash for each share they own plus $5.67 in stock for a spinoff of a vacation business.

Anbang made a dramatic entry into the U.S. two years ago when it bought the famed Waldorf Astoria in of York for almost $2 billion. Days before it contested Marriott for control of Starwood, it laid down$6.5 billion to acquire Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc., which owns several high-end properties including the JW Marriott Essex House in New York and Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego.

Starwood, based in Stamford, Connecticut, offered a unique opportunity for Marriott because the hotel chain put itself up for sale. Marriott, based in Bethesda, Maryland, says one of the key assets Starwood brought to the deal was its much loved loyalty program, Starwood Preferred Guest.

Marriott said Monday that it is confident that it can achieve $250 million in annual cost savings within two years of closing on the Starwood transaction. That's $50 million more than in estimated in November, when it gave its initial offer to Starwood.

Marriott and Starwood still anticipate the deal closing around midyear, assuming it receives the necessary approvals.

Shares of Starwood gained $2.43, or 3 percent, to $83 before the market open, while Marriott's stock shed 97 cents to $72.19.


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## blondietink (Mar 21, 2016)

Just out of curiosity, how do you expect that Marriott is now anticipating a cost savings of $250 million per year within 2 years of closing.  I would think that combining management, etc., would save some, but that's a lot of cost savings every year.  Where will they save? Will they cut services/benefits to us lowly Starwood people?


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## Negma (Mar 21, 2016)

Let the speculation begin..BUT remember, us lowly Starwood people will become lowly Marriot people assuming this goes through.


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## Julian926 (Mar 21, 2016)

So is this official - Marriott wins the bid?

Would there be time for a counter offer from Anbang?


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## SueDonJ (Mar 21, 2016)

Julian926 said:


> So is this official - Marriott wins the bid?
> 
> Would there be time for a counter offer from Anbang?



From today's press release at news.marriott.com (bolding mine) :

_"... As announced on March 18, 2016, Starwood’s Board previously determined that the binding and fully financed proposal from a consortium consisting of Anbang Insurance Group Co., Ltd., J.C. Flowers & Co. and Primavera Capital Limited (the “Consortium”) to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Starwood for $78.00 per share in cash constituted a “Superior Proposal,” as defined in the merger agreement. The Consortium’s proposal, together with the ILG transaction, have a combined current value of $83.83 per Starwood share. In connection with the amended merger agreement, Starwood’s Board of Directors has determined that the Consortium’s proposal no longer constitutes a “Superior Proposal”, and therefore *under the merger agreement Starwood is no longer permitted to engage in discussions or negotiations with, or provide confidential information to, the Consortium*. Starwood’s Board unanimously recommends the amended merger agreement with Marriott to Starwood’s stockholders. ..."_


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## okwiater (Mar 21, 2016)

SueDonJ said:


> From today's press release at news.marriott.com (bolding mine) :
> 
> _"... As announced on March 18, 2016, Starwood’s Board previously determined that the binding and fully financed proposal from a consortium consisting of Anbang Insurance Group Co., Ltd., J.C. Flowers & Co. and Primavera Capital Limited (the “Consortium”) to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Starwood for $78.00 per share in cash constituted a “Superior Proposal,” as defined in the merger agreement. The Consortium’s proposal, together with the ILG transaction, have a combined current value of $83.83 per Starwood share. In connection with the amended merger agreement, Starwood’s Board of Directors has determined that the Consortium’s proposal no longer constitutes a “Superior Proposal”, and therefore *under the merger agreement Starwood is no longer permitted to engage in discussions or negotiations with, or provide confidential information to, the Consortium*. Starwood’s Board unanimously recommends the amended merger agreement with Marriott to Starwood’s stockholders. ..."_



True, but does that preclude Anbang from upping their offer in an unsolicited fashion, similar to before? That could, once again, qualify it as a "superior proposal."


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## bizaro86 (Mar 21, 2016)

All that means is starwood can't give them any more confidential information to help them with a bid, or negotiate with them. Anbang could make a higher bid if they wanted, which the Starwood board would have a fiduciary duty to consider.


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## SueDonJ (Mar 21, 2016)

Further explained in Arne Sorenson's email to MAR employees, posted to viewfromthewing.com ...


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## lizap (Mar 21, 2016)

I fully expect another offer from Anbang.


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## PamMo (Mar 21, 2016)

*Don't hold on to SPG points if Marriott's bid for Starwood wins!*

Like others have stated in this forum, if Marriott buys Starwood, the SPG loyalty program will take a hit.

https://gma.yahoo.com/loyalty-point...ger-184848073--abc-news-personal-finance.html


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## Julian926 (Mar 22, 2016)

Interesting....


http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimor...riott-sweetened-its-bid-for-starwood-and.html

*Why Marriott sweetened its bid for Starwood. And why it still might not win.*

The chance to become the world's biggest hospitality company — by far — apparently was just too appealing for Marriott International Inc. CEO Arne Sorenson.
Sorenson and the Marriott board quickly and significantly upped the company's offer to $13.8 billion for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. on Monday, despite predictions from some analysts that the Bethesda company would have a hard time topping Anbang’s March 18 all-cash offer of $13.2 billion.
Arne Sorenson, CEO of Marriott International Inc., said Monday he still believes a Marriott-Starwood merger is the best course of action for the two companies.

BLOOMBERG

But the countermove is less surprising if you consider Sorenson's recent statements on the proposed union. After initially saying last fall that Marriott (NASDAQ: MAR) wasn't interested in pursuing Starwood (NYSE: HOT) until its valuation had decreased, he's been pushing the potential benefits whenever possible.
He’s indicated he’s extremely eager to have the kind of leverage a combined company would provide, be it in negotiations with online travel agencies or in competing with home-sharing sites such as Airbnb.

Sorenson reiterated this position in a LinkedIn blog post on the revised offer Monday: “With our scale, we will be able to better respond to technology disruptions,” Sorenson wrote.

Of course, Anbang’s pockets could still prove too deep. The Chinese insurer, which has a balance sheet of $253 billion and is leading a group of investors in the Starwood acquisition that includes Primavera Capital Group and J.C. Flowers & Co., could still submit a higher offer. The Anbang-led investor group has already done it once, sweetening its bid from $12.8 billion to $13.2 billion last week to win over the Starwood board and generate shareholder support. That values Starwood at $83.67 per share for Starwood.
Marriott’s current offer values Starwood shares at $79.53 — 0.8 shares of Marriott stock for each share of Starwood, as well as $21 in cash per share. It only ups the ante for Starwood incrementally, however, with a value of $13.6 billion using the stock prices from Friday’s close.

Starwood shareholders are also expected to get $5.50 per share from the spinoff and sale of its Vistana timeshare business to Interval Leisure Group. Taken together, that would value Starwood stock at $85.36 per share, for an acquisition price of $14.41 billion.

Stamford, Connecticut-based Starwood was trading at $83.85 per share around noon, up 4 percent from the market's open.


Marriott and Starwood pushed back their special shareholder meetings until April 8; the revised merger agreement between the two does allow for Starwood to review a revised superior proposal from Anbang before that date. Should a revised bid from Anbang come in, Starwood would once again have to provide notice to Marriott and there would subsequently be a three-day negotiation period.
Starwood's board seems to be favoring the stock portion of Marriott's offer, which is a hurdle that Anbang would have to address in any subsequent offer. Starwood has indicated that the global strength of Marriott in the hospitality sector was a big factor in its accepting Marriott's original offer.

Marriott also released additional projections for the combined company Monday, estimating cost savings from a merger of up $250 million per year. That's up from an estimate of $200 million. The combined company would have 5,700 hotels and more than 1.1 million rooms.

The larger cash component of the revised merger proposal, however, could push back the profitability timeline for the combined company, something RBC Capital Markets LLC analyst Wes Golladay projected in an interview with Wall Street Journal on March 18. Golladay said a higher offer could mean accretion — the point at which the deal would add to earnings — would not occur until later.
An investor presentation from Marriott on Monday backed that up: Marriott now expects adjusted earnings per share of the combined company to be neutral in 2017 and 2018, meaning the merger is not expected to add to earnings until 2019. Still, Sorenson said the underlying strategy behind the merger has not changed.

"This revised agreement offers superior value for Starwood’s shareholders, the ability to close quickly, and provides value creation potential that will allow both sets of shareholders to benefit from improved financial performance," Sorenson said in his blog post.


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## okwiater (Mar 22, 2016)

According to this Reuters story, a Chinese magazine is asserting that Chinese rather than US regulators would likely reject an Anbang deal.


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## Debbie118 (Mar 28, 2016)

*New offer*

Anbang Group is now offering $82.75 a share cash. Will Marriott continue to bid it up?


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## okwiater (Mar 28, 2016)

Actually, the latest Anbang bid is for $88.66 per share (over $15 billion).

_The newest offer is from Anbang  is for $88.66 per Starwood share, or $15.03 billion. That tops the  latest bid of $14.41 billion that Marriott International Inc. offered  last week._

_Anbang's  offer includes $82.75 per share in cash, which is an increase of $4.75  per share from its previous bid. The bid also includes $5.91 in stock  for a spinoff of a vacation business._​http://finance.yahoo.com/news/starwood-receives-sweetened-15b-bid-133921427.html


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## Scott & Laura (Mar 28, 2016)

I am unsure Anbang is a great deal for Starwood users.

I read in China's Financial Times that their Central Bank Governor came out and spoke about Chinese companies being over leveraged with debt after Anbang's proposal. Moody's changed the Chinese Governments Bond rating to negative from stable due to debt.  

Anbang is an extremely connected Chinese and government company---Chinese companies are leveraged up to 10x's assets and most companies should be only 2-3x's

Company debts of buying STarwood can be by devaluing points quickly.

Anbang was always in the picture and was not the surprise as news reported


https://skift.com/2016/03/25/the-inside-story-of-anbangs-long-pursuit-to-acquire-starwood/

Scott


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## Julian926 (Mar 28, 2016)

*Starwood Gets Higher Offer From Anbang-led Group, Threatening Marriott Deal*

http://www.wsj.com/articles/starwoo...m-anbang-threatening-marriott-deal-1459173151


Wish I bought HOT.


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## taffy19 (Mar 28, 2016)

Scott & Laura said:


> I am unsure Anbang is a great deal for Starwood users.
> 
> I read in China's Financial Times that their Central Bank Governor came out and spoke about Chinese companies being over leveraged with debt after Anbang's proposal. Moody's changed the Chinese Governments Bond rating to negative from stable due to debt.
> 
> ...


I read this too and also that one of the insurance companies didn't fare that well after it was taken over.  I am trying to find the story again as I have it somewhere.  I believe that they were in Belgium.  

I would be worried about the Starwood's Preferred Guest (SPG) loyalty program if the group led by China’s Anbang Insurance Group Co. would be the winner.  You know who the Marriott Company is even though it may no longer be as good a loyalty program as it was before.

We took a timeshare presentation the other day at the Westin and they offered us 12,000 SPG points.  The Concierge told us that 6,000 SPG is the normal offer.  Again, I don't know if that is true.


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## okwiater (Mar 28, 2016)

iconnections said:


> I would be worried about the Starwood's Preferred Guest (SPG) loyalty program if the group led by China’s Anbang Insurance Group Co. would be the winner.  You know who the Marriott Company is even though it may no longer be as good a loyalty program as it was before.



As a Starwood TS owner I'd rather see the Anbang deal go through since it helps preserve competition and likely SPG as well. Yes there are risks but a Marriott deal is more likely to devalue the program IMO.

On the other hand, as a HOT stockholder I'd prefer the Marriott acquisition. The $450 mil termination fee -- notwithstanding the likelihood that Anbang will pay about half of it -- plus the significant regulatory uncertainty isn't worth the added risk.



iconnections said:


> We took a timeshare presentation the other day at the Westin and they offered us 12,000 SPG points.  The Concierge told us that 6,000 SPG is the normal offer.  Again, I don't know if that is true.



Sounds about right. We are usually offered 6-8K points for a presentation.


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## Helios (Mar 28, 2016)

okwiater said:


> As a Starwood TS owner I'd rather see the Anbang deal go through since it helps preserve competition and likely SPG as well. Yes there are risks but a Marriott deal is more likely to devalue the program IMO



I share your opinion.  Keeping SPG (even if it is modified) seems like a better option to me.  I have zero interest in joining Marriott via this purchase.  Why would I trade Plat benefits for most likely Gold MR.  I can get that via the Ritz CC...:hysterical: fairly easily...

Competition would be good.  And keeping SPG in any format seems like a better option than merging it with Marriott which is a 100% probability of reduced benefits.


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## Helios (Mar 28, 2016)

Julian926 said:


> http://www.wsj.com/articles/starwoo...m-anbang-threatening-marriott-deal-1459173151
> 
> 
> Wish I bought HOT.



Seriously.  I was very close to buying HOT shares.  Too late now.


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## pacman777 (Mar 29, 2016)

I was hoping Anbang would come back with a higher bid. Now if Marriott would just go away with their half billion dollar termination payout then it's a win-win for all, especially for us SVN owners and Starwood hotel loyalists. This assures SVN will likely maintain its affiliation with "Starwood" brand even under ILG as there is no more risk of SPG and the "Starwood" brands getting dissolved or integrated into Marriott.  As a business traveler that spends 50+ nights in Starwood hotels and around 25 nights in Marriott hotels (for those locations that don't have Starwood or if Marriott has a good promo going on), I am hoping these brands and companies stay separate!


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## okwiater (Mar 29, 2016)

Interestingly, with MAR's advance yesterday, the offer of 0.8 MAR shares + $21 cash for each HOT share works out to $88/share, as opposed to $82.75/share from Anbang. It's definitely tough to evaluate these 2 competing offers, but my guess is that cash is king. Without a sweetener from Marriott, it seems likely that Starwood will decide Anbang's offer is a superior proposal.


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## Scott & Laura (Mar 29, 2016)

I read that Starwood points are worth 2.5 cents each and Marriott's only 0.7 cents each

If I understand correctly Marriott would provide a 3 to one point swap which devalues Starwood by 16 %   


I hope that is not true  but Anbang may devalue points as well


Scott


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## maph (Mar 29, 2016)

okwiater said:


> Interestingly, with MAR's advance yesterday, the offer of 0.8 MAR shares + $21 cash for each HOT share works out to $88/share, as opposed to $82.75/share from Anbang. It's definitely tough to evaluate these 2 competing offers, but my guess is that cash is king. Without a sweetener from Marriott, it seems likely that Starwood will decide Anbang's offer is a superior proposal.



Marriott closed yesterday at around $71.30, which makes their latest offer equal to (0.8 x 71.30) + 21 = $78.04, still quite a bit less than Anbang's latest.


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## Helios (Mar 30, 2016)

Anybody knows when is the Starwood board supposed to make a decision?


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## vistana101 (Mar 30, 2016)

moto x said:


> Anybody knows when is the Starwood board supposed to make a decision?



No, but last time this happened, Starwood similarly announced the new bid on Monday, and then they announced acceptance of the bid that Friday. So I would expect a similar timeline.


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## Scott & Laura (Mar 31, 2016)

Starwood's deadline is Midnight April 8 for shareholders to decide

Anbang has bid $14.1 Billion but if Starwood agrees they owe Marriott $478 million to back out

Marriotts bid is $13.6 billion


China's courts do not abide by Rule of Law so if Anbang an extremely politically well connected defaults  Starwood has no recourse so a letter of credit or some way to compensate Starwood for damages would be needed--keep in mind Starwood would have to pay Marriott almost half a billion dollars if it signs with Anbang . Anbang failed 3 times to provide financial arrangements to satisfy Starwood.

The regulators in China do not want Chinese companies to invest more than 15% in other countries Anbang may be buying STarwood at a premium to park money so when China devalues Renmibi it wont hurt so much


There is a lot of risk with Anbang because it is not a transparent company and is more of a shell company


Scott


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## Ken555 (Mar 31, 2016)

And it's over. Anbang is walking away.


Sent from my iPad


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## SueDonJ (Mar 31, 2016)

Ken555 said:


> And it's over. Anbang is walking away.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad



CNBC 3/31/16 link:  Anbang walking away ...


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## DavidnRobin (Mar 31, 2016)

damn - and I was just brushing up on my Cantonese...


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## Helios (Mar 31, 2016)

Oh well, RIP SPG


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## okwiater (Mar 31, 2016)

Too bad. Although this is likely better for both companies in the long run.


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## dioxide45 (Mar 31, 2016)

So should Marriott rescind its last offer and go back to their original $12.2B?


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## Julian926 (Apr 1, 2016)

That sucks. Gonna probably lose SPG Gold benefit from SVN.


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## okwiater (Apr 1, 2016)

dioxide45 said:


> So should Marriott rescind its last offer and go back to their original $12.2B?


That's not how it works. In order for Marriott to have raised its offer they would have either implicitly or explicitly rescinded their earlier, lower offer.


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## YYJMSP (Apr 1, 2016)

okwiater said:


> That's not how it works. In order for Marriott to have raised its offer they would have either implicitly or explicitly rescinded their earlier, lower offer.



The wording from one of their press releases was that the offer was "binding", so that explicitly rescinds their previous offer.

Given the bulk of the offer is stock, and the stock values took a bit of a dive after Anbang pulled out, the value of the offer is less than what it was previously advertised as -- I wouldn't be surprised if it is now worth less than their original offer...


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## okwiater (Apr 1, 2016)

YYJMSP said:


> The wording from one of their press releases was that the offer was "binding", so that explicitly rescinds their previous offer.
> 
> Given the bulk of the offer is stock, and the stock values took a bit of a dive after Anbang pulled out, the value of the offer is less than what it was previously advertised as -- I wouldn't be surprised if it is now worth less than their original offer...



Their original offer was 0.92 MAR shares + $2, the new offer is 0.8 MAR shares + $21. Tough to evaluate "old vs. new" since the market subsequently prices in perceived value. However, the larger cash component suggests that the new offer is still superior.


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## lizap (Apr 1, 2016)

I doub't this is best for Starwood's customers and elites as it lessens competition significantly. 




okwiater said:


> Too bad. Although this is likely better for both companies in the long run.


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## SueDonJ (Apr 1, 2016)

Marriott and Starwood hosted a joint webcast at 9:00AM this morning.  I haven't found a transcript yet but the link to the webcast is here at MAR's Investor Relations page, if you're interested.

{eta} Info from joint call at skift.com:  Marriott-Starwood Investor Call ...


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## dioxide45 (Apr 1, 2016)

okwiater said:


> That's not how it works. In order for Marriott to have raised its offer they would have either implicitly or explicitly rescinded their earlier, lower offer.



Thanks for clarifying.


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## okwiater (Apr 1, 2016)

lizap said:


> I doub't this is best for Starwood's customers and elites as it lessens competition significantly.



I said it is likely better for both **companies**, not necessarily the customers, (although it doesn't necessarily have to be mutually exclusive).


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## Rsauer3473 (Apr 1, 2016)

*Anbang has dropped its bid for Starwood*

http://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-anbang-tells-starwood-it-is-walking-away-1459455942?mod=e2fb

Have a nice weekend.


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## Scott & Laura (Apr 4, 2016)

I wonder if the Panama papers exposing many of Chinas political elite involved in real estate had anything to do with it.

I think all in all Marriott will be better     Marriott is a company that returns value to shareholders through growth and maintains their properties well.  Anbang is a company looking for cash flow from investments and I think would have been more apt to devalue points. Marriott is acutely aware of the loyalty that Starwood customers have and will not trifle with it as they would have simply bought an assett and immediately dimished its value by angering loyal customers who make up half of Starwoods income   They aren't stupid people


On the other hand after reading the afore mentioned wallstreet journal article ---I see a Golden oppurtunity for Tuggers    We can band together and make a $14, Billoion dollar play for Starwood and meet with Starwood at their Top Hotels for days and get free meals and drinks  while getting waterlogged in the pool.  After we evasively avoid answering questions how we will finance the offer after several weeks of meetings all gratis---we can rescind our offer


Scott


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## Scott & Laura (Apr 4, 2016)

Take away from joint call of Marriott and Starwood

See full transcript: http://skift.com/2016/04/01/the-inside-story-of-anbangs-final-attempt-to-acquire-starwood/

*The loyalty programs were No. 1 *on Sorenson’s wish list.  As Sorenson expressed in his earlier appearance this morning, April 1, on CNBC, the power of a combined loyalty program drawing on Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) are the biggest prize in this deal.

“We think we can create a company which satisfies that much more of what every traveler is looking for,” Sorenson said. “We think we have the real possibility of saying to folks ‘You don’t actually need to belong to any other hotel loyalty program’ because we have the ability to satisfy you no matter the purpose of the travel or no matter the place that you’re going.”

Sorenson noted how impressed he’s been by the passion and loyalty demonstrated by SPG members, as well as members of Marriott Rewards, and he said the eventual combination of both programs will be a win-win-win situation for both the companies, the hotel owners, and for customers over all. With SPG and Marriott Rewards combined, SPG members now have access to 4,500 more hotels around the world to stay in, and Marriott Rewards members will have an additional 1,300 hotels to choose from. “This combined company will capture more share of wallet from Starwood companies.”

Previously, Sorenson has said that both loyalty programs will initially run in a parallel manner before being combined. He also said that both companies want to work closely with their various loyalty program partners, including credit card partners American Express and Chase, on putting together a new program.

“We have to figure out the systems piece and the partners piece,” he said. “The most powerful early value we can deliver to our customer, the audience which is most important here, is the ability to earn points and redeem points across the platforms.”

Expect all 30 brands to remain intact — for now. “We do continue to think we will retain the Starwood brands,” said Sorenson. “They are brands that are competing in the marketplace with existing contracts. We expect to continue to grow their brands.” Sorenson said the integration teams will continue to look for ways to “drive distinctions” between the relative brands over time.

In particular, Sorenson spoke about the AC by Marriott, Aloft, and Element brands. He noted that while AC has a more European sensibility and Aloft has a more American one, AC has the same amount of hotels as Aloft — about 100 — even though it’s only been in existence for two years. Although both AC by Marriott and Aloft “compete in essentially the same place” and among “the same franchise partners in the U.S.” he believes Marriott will be able to grow the Aloft brand.

He also noted that Marriott is excited about the prospect of welcoming the Element brand, especially since it fills a void in Marriott’s portfolio as a lifestyle extended stay brand. In an investors call on March 21, Sorenson noted Element as “an interesting alternative to some of the housing rental services or shared economy platforms like Airbnrb and some others.”

But do expect some changes with Sheraton over time. The Sheraton brand is in definite need of some attention, which is why Starwood launched Sheraton 2020 last year in an effort to revive the brand. So it’s expected that there will be some bigger changes taking place with Sheraton properties over the course of the combination.

Sorenson said Marriott will want to sit down with the owners of Sheraton properties to talk to them about brand strategies, and that they want to drive improved revenue and margin performance at those hotels to give the owners more capital to reinvest into those very properties. He suggested that those properties unable to invest capital to properly renovate their Sheraton properties, or unable to meet new brand standards may be asked to be “down-branded or leave the system altogether” or perhaps consider reflagging under another brand like Delta, a newly acquired brand of Marriott’s.


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