Hyatt To Expand All-Inclusive Portfolio With $2.6B Acquisition Of Playa Hotels & Resorts
Hyatt Hotels Corp. will acquire Playa Hotels & Resorts, an owner and operator of all-inclusive Caribbean lodging real estate, for $2.6B.
Hyatt, which already owned 9.4% of Playa, agreed to pay $13.50 per outstanding share, the hotel chain announced Monday.
The deal expands on Hyatt’s all-inclusive growth journey, which started with the creation of the Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara brands in 2013. Hyatt’s all-inclusive portfolio includes the $2.7B acquisition of Apple Leisure Group in 2021. ALG’s management portfolio spans more than 100 resort properties and 33,000 rooms in locations including Mexico, St. Martin and Spain’s Canary Islands.
Last year, Hyatt entered a 50-50 joint venture with Grupo Piñero that added the Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts portfolio to Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection, which spans about 55,000 rooms across Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe.
Yet some analysts questioned why Hyatt would pay billions for the Playa real estate when its investors are pushing an asset-light strategy, Bloomberg reported.
The hotelier said it remains committed to that asset-light model, and it plans to identify third-party buyers for Playa’s owned properties.
Playa owns and manages 23 resorts in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, including eight Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara hotels, as well as Wyndham Hotels & Resorts-branded hotels, according to its website.
“This pending transaction allows us to broaden our portfolio while providing more value to all of our stakeholders through an expanded management platform for all-inclusive resorts,” Hyatt President and CEO Mark Hoplamazian said in a news release, adding that Hyatt has respected and benefited from Playa’s ownership and management expertise for years.
Hyatt will fund the acquisition with new debt financing, and it expects to pay down more than 80% of the new financing with proceeds from asset sales, according to the company.
Hyatt anticipates realizing $2B of proceeds from asset sales by the end of 2027.
Playa’s shares rose 11% last year through the close of trading on Dec. 20, the last trading day before Hyatt and Playa disclosed that the companies were in exclusive negotiations that could include acquisition.
As of early Monday, Hyatt’s share price increased 1.4% to $166.27, while Playa shares were up 2.3% to $13.24.
Other major lodging companies have also turned to acquisitions and licensing deals to expand customer offerings. In 2024, Hilton acquired Graduate Hotels and Sydell Group, a luxury hotel company with a portfolio including the NoMad brand.
Marriott International announced licensing agreements with MGM Resorts International and Sonder Holdings in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
