Marriott books Starwood to create biggest hotel company !!!!!!

US-based Marriott International announced Monday that it will acquire Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in a $12.2 billion deal that will  catapult it to become the world’s largest hotelier by a wide margin.

The two companies had combined revenues of nearly $19 billion in 2014 and currently have 5,500  properties  and about 1.1 million rooms worldwide. The combined company will dwarf number-two global hotelier Hilton, which has 4,500 hotels and 735,000 rooms.

The agreed merger unites Marriott brands, which include Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance,JW Marriott, Fairfield Inn and Starwood marks like Westin, St. Regis, W and Sheraton. The merger will give Marriott 30 brands and more leverage with corporate travel departments. Frequent business travelers will also be closely watching the deal. Starwood has a beloved frequent guest program with partnerships with American Express, Delta Air Lines and Uber. Marriott has a much larger programme with partnerships with Chase, United Airlines and several others.

Starwood shareholders will receive 0.92 shares of Marriott International, Class A common stock and $2.00 in cash for each share of Starwood common stock, a joint statement from the companies read.

Starwood shareholders will separately receive about $7.80 per share from a transaction set to close prior to the Marriott-Starwood merger closing — the spin-off of the Starwood timeshare business and its merger with Interval Leisure Group, which has an estimated value of approximately $1.3 billion.

Marriott said it expected one-time transaction costs of $100 million-$150 million related to the deal. The company expects to deliver at least $200 million in annual savings in the second full year after closing.