(Bloomberg) -- Marriott International Inc. agreed to take over Elegant Hotels Group Plc in a transaction that will deepen the lodging giant's reach into the Caribbean.
Marriott International will pay 110 pence a share in cash for Elegant Hotels, a 57% premium to its Thursday close, according to a statement Friday that confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report. That values the company at about 101 million pounds ($130 million), or $199 million including debt, the company said in the statement.
Elegant Hotels shares gained as much as 56% in London trading Friday morning, the most on record. The deal is subject to shareholder approval.
“There is a strong and growing consumer demand for premium and luxury properties in the all-inclusive category” into which Marriott has started expanding, the U.S. hotelier's chief executive officer, Arne Sorenson, said in the statement.
Elegant Hotels, which went public in 2015, operates properties in Barbados and St. Lucia, according to its website.
Marriott International has more than 7,000 properties in 131 countries under brands including the Ritz-Carlton, W Hotels and Courtyard, according to its website.
In 2016, Marriott International acquired rival Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.
--With assistance from Patrick Clark, Aaron Kirchfeld and Jack Sidders.
To contact the reporters on this story: Liana Baker in New York at lbaker75@bloomberg.net;David Hellier in London at dhellier@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Hauck at dhauck1@bloomberg.net, Shelley Robinson, Ben Scent
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