萬豪國際提高對喜達屋收購報價 Starwood backs $13.6bn Marriott bid

Marriott International clinched a new agreement with Starwood Hotels & Resorts yesterday, making a last-minute comeback to edge out a rival bid from China’s Anbang in the fiercest bidding war dealmakers have seen in recent history.

萬豪國際(Marriott International)昨日與喜達屋酒店及度假村國際集團(Starwood Hotels & Resorts)之間達成一項新協議，在最後時刻反超中國安邦(Anbang)的競爭性報價，這是交易撮合人士近期見到的最激烈的競購戰。

The final terms of the offer were hammered out in Havana, while the two US companies’ chief executives were accompanying President Barack Obama on his historic visit to Cuba. Starwood signed an agreement to manage three prominent hotels in the Cuban capital, marking the first time in nearly 60 years that a US hospitality company has been allowed to operate in the country.

收購要約的最終條款是在哈瓦那敲定的，這兩家美國公司的首席執行官正隨同美國總統巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)對古巴進行歷史性訪問。喜達屋簽訂了一份新協議，在古巴首都經營三家著名酒店，成爲近60年來第一家獲准在古巴開展經營的美國酒店管理公司。

Starwood said yesterday that it had accepted Marriott’s sweetened cash-and-stock offer of $79.53 per share, valuing the company at about $13.6bn. The move overrides one that Starwood agreed on Friday with Anbang, which had made an all-cash bid of $13.2bn for the owner of brands including Sheraton, St Regis and W Hotels.

喜達屋昨日表示，已接受了萬豪國際上調後的現金加股票收購報價，摺合每股79.53美元，對公司估值約爲136億美元。這推翻了喜達屋在上週五與安邦達成的協議，安邦提出以132億美元收購喜來登(Sheraton)、瑞吉(St Regis)和W酒店(W Hotels)等品牌的擁有者的全現金報價。

But the fight for control of Starwood appears far from over. Anbang, a politically connected Chinese insurer, is expected to make a counter offer in the coming days, according to people who monitor the sector. They added that nothing had been proposed yet but the Chinese group’s advisers were working around the clock to find a way to increase its offer.

但是，對喜達屋控制權的爭奪似乎遠未結束。知情人士表示，未來幾天裏，擁有政府人脈的中國保險商安邦預計將提出還盤。他們補充稱，目前尚未有任何提議，但這家中資集團的顧問們正在徹夜工作，想辦法提高報價。

Shares in Starwood were up a further 4 per cent in early afternoon trading in New York at $83.83. The fact they are trading above the latest offer price reflects a side agreement to sell Starwood’s timeshare business for about $5.83 a share.

紐約股市後市早段，喜達屋股價再度上漲4%，漲至83.83美元。股價高於最新報價表明，喜達屋簽訂了一份附屬協議，以每股約5.83美元出售其分時度假業務。收市時，喜達屋股價報84.19美元。

Marriott’s decision to increase its offer highlights how vital the deal is for the company’s future. A successful takeover of Starwood would make it the world’s largest hotel group with a portfolio of 1.1m rooms in more than 5,500 hotels.

萬豪國際決定提高報價，凸顯了收購喜達屋對其未來是多麼至關重要。如果收購喜達屋獲得成功，萬豪國際將成爲擁有逾5500家酒店、110萬套客房的全球最大酒店集團。

Marriott also said it expected to generate about $250m in cost savings from buying Starwood. The one-off costs of the transaction would be $100m-$130m.

萬豪國際還表示，預計收購喜達屋將產生2.5億美元的成本節約。該交易的一次性成本將達1億至1.3億美元。