The news of Hyatt to acquire Playa Hotels & Resorts in a transaction of $13.50 per share — or $2.6 billion in cash, which includes approximately $900 million of debt, net of cash — was officially announced yesterday, Monday, February 10, 2025 by both companies.
Hyatt to Acquire Playa Hotels & Resorts
“Playa is a leading owner and operator of all-inclusive resorts in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica and Hyatt is currently the beneficial owner of 9.4% of Playa’s outstanding shares”, according to this official press release from Hyatt Hotels Corporation. “Playa’s portfolio includes high-quality resorts in iconic locations and strategically important markets. The pending acquisition provides an opportunity to secure long-term management agreements for Hyatt’s luxury all-inclusive Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara branded properties. It also will expand Hyatt’s distribution channels, including ALG Vacations and Unlimited Vacation Club, to Playa’s portfolio, offering additional benefits to guests of Playa hotels. Hyatt is well-positioned to drive value creation through complementary business segments and further optimize its existing all-inclusive infrastructure in Mexico and the Caribbean.”
Playa Hotels & Resorts is known for its all-inclusive resort properties that are branded by other companies — and one of the potential strategic alternatives of which Playa has agreed to negotiate exclusively with Hyatt is the acquisition of Playa by Hyatt. The 25 resort properties of Playa Hotels & Resorts in three countries includes:
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
- Hilton La Romana
- Hilton La Romana Adult Resort
- Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana Adult Resort
- Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana
- Sanctuary Cap Cana, a Luxury Collection Resort
- Wyndham Alltra Punta Cana
- Wyndham Alltra Samana
JAMAICA
- Hilton Rose Hall
- Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall Adult Resort
- Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall
- Jewel Grande
- Jewel Paradise Cove Adult Resort
MEXICO
- Hilton Playa Del Carmen Adult Resort
- Hyatt Zilara Cancun Adult Resort
- Hyatt Ziva Cancun
- Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos
- Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta
- Kimpton Tres Rios
- Paraiso de la Bonita Luxury Collection Resort
- Seadust Cancun Family Resort
- The Yucatan Playa Del Carmen by Hilton, Adult Resort
- Turquoize Cancun
- Wyndham Alltra Cancun
- Wyndham Alltra Playa Del Carmen, Adults Only
- Wyndham Alltra Vallarta
Both Hilton and Wyndham stand to lose significant parts of their portfolios of all-inclusive resort properties as a result of the aforementioned acquisition deal. Additionally, both Marriott and IHG Hotels & Resorts combined also stand to lose a few all-inclusive resort properties.
“Following a deliberate and comprehensive review of opportunities, the Playa Board concluded that the proposed transaction with Hyatt is in the best interest of the Company”, according to this official press release from Playa Hotels & Resorts. “As a result of our robust process and engagement with a number of potential counterparties, we are confident that this transaction maximizes shareholder value. The transaction will deliver to Playa shareholders a 40% premium to the Company’s unaffected stock price prior to the disclosure of exclusive discussions with Hyatt.”
The exclusive agreement was first revealed on Monday, December 23, 2024. The acquisition is anticipated to close later this year; but it is subject to approval by both shareholders of Playa Hotels & Resorts and regulators — as well as other customary closing conditions.
Final Boarding Call
Hyatt Hotels Corporation has been on a major expansion spree of all-inclusive resort properties lately.
I have personally stayed at several of the aforementioned resort properties and generally enjoyed my stays — it is just my luck to not have written articles about my personal experiences at them prior to the aforementioned announcement…
…but will those resort properties improve under Hyatt Hotels Corportation — and if so, will staying at them become significantly more expensive?
The featured photograph at the top of this article is from Hilton La Romana in the Dominican Republic. All photographs ©2019, ©2021, and ©2023 by Brian Cohen.
