Vacasa Snaps Up Wyndham Vacation Rentals For $162M
Vacasa, a major vacation rental management platform, has acquired Wyndham Vacation Rentals, a similar platform with an international scope, for about $162M.
The deal will boost Vacasa's inventory, which is about 14,000 units, to more than 23,000 residential properties under management in the short-term rental markets of the Americas, Europe and Africa. Vacasa expects to realize more than $1B in gross bookings and an excess of $500M in net revenue from the combined inventory over the next 12 months.
Vacasa is paying $45M in cash for the company, according to the deal announcement, along with $30M of Vacasa equity, so that after the deal Wyndham Destinations, which is Wyndham Vacation Rentals' parent, will have a stake in Vacasa going forward. The remaining balance of the purchase price at closing will be in either seller financing or cash.
Last year, Wyndham Destinations (then known as Wyndham Worldwide Corp.) sold its European vacation rentals business to Platinum Equity, a private equity firm, for about $1.3B.
Portland, Oregon-based Vacasa's business model is based on facilitating short-term rentals on behalf of owners of second and third houses, and in some cases of vacant apartments. Vacasa partners with booking platforms such as Booking.com, Airbnb and HomeAway to drive year-round bookings.
With the units it rents, Vacasa uses technology from NoiseAware, PointCentral and VirtualKEY to allow certain management functions to be undertaken remotely, without crossing paths with guests. The technologies also enable Vacasa to better screen guests, the company says.
In markets where the company is active, Vacasa employs full-time staff to clean and maintain units. To landlords, the company offers its legal services to help navigate the complex regulatory environment for short-term rentals.
The Wyndham deal is the latest in Vacasa's efforts to expand its footprint and diversify its business. Late last year, Vacasa rolled out Vacasa Multifamily, which partners with developers and property managers to optimize vacant apartment units by listing them as short-term rentals on Vacasa.
About a year ago, the company also launched Vacasa Real Estate to connect vacation homebuyers and sellers with qualified local real estate agents. Soon afterward, Vacasa Community Association Management began providing management services to vacation rental homeowners through their community associations.
Vacasa expects to complete the full integration with Wyndham Vacation Rentals by fall 2020. PJT Partners acted as financial adviser in the deal, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges acted as legal adviser to Wyndham Destinations. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati acted as legal adviser to Vacasa.
