Choice Hotels International will acquire Radisson Hotel Group Americas for approximately $675 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Choice will take on the franchise business, operations and intellectual property of a total of 624 hotels across the U.S., Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean while Brussels-headquartered Radisson Hotel Group operates in the rest of the world.
The takeover will significantly expand Choice Hotels’ upscale and upper-midscale presence, bringing aboard several brands — Radisson, Radisson Blu, Radisson Individuals, Park Plaza, Radisson Red, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Park Inn by Radisson, Radisson Inn & Suites and Radisson Collection.
The vast majority of the properties included in the transaction are flagged under the upscale Radisson and upper-midscale Country Inn & Suites brands, comprising 130 and 453 hotels throughout the Americas region, respectively.
Choice Hotels said it would independently own and control the brands in the Americas and “work with the Radisson Hotel Group to drive the growth, continuity and success of the brands.”
The split from Radisson will see them operate as two separate companies with separate loyalty programs, technology infrastructure like reservations and property management systems, and websites.
Choice called the acquisition consistent with the company’s “long-term strategy of growing in higher-revenue segments.” Choice said, “Radisson brands typically have larger room counts and are located in higher RevPAR markets.”
Choice also said that the move will better enable it to target business travelers as well as a broader demographic of leisure travelers. The deal is expected to close by the second half of this year.
Choice currently has about 7,000 properties across 35 countries in its portfolio, which plays across the upscale, midscale, extended-stay and economy segments.
The company’s brands are Comfort, Quality Inn, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, WoodSpring Suites, Everhome Suites, MainStay Suites, Clarion Pointe, Clarion, Sleep Inn, Cambria and Ascend Hotel Collection.
