Playa Hotels & Resorts to be acquired in $2.6B deal with Hyatt

Resorts owner, operator and developer Playa Hotels & Resorts has entered into an agreement to be acquired by an indirect subsidiary of Hyatt Hotels for approximately $2.6 billion, including approximately $900 million in debt, the hospitality companies announced Monday.

Playa Hotels & Resorts is a Dutch public limited liability company headquartered in Amsterdam with an administrative office in Fairfax. The company’s investor relations operations are based in Fairfax, according to contact information in its 2023 annual report.

Chicago-based Hyatt is currently the beneficial owner of 9.4% of Playa’s outstanding shares. The indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Hyatt, Dutch private limited liability company HI Holdings Playa B.V., will acquire all outstanding shares of Playa for $13.50 per share.

The deal will take Playa private. Playa went public in 2017 through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

The acquisition is expected to close later this year and is subject to Playa shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Playa owns and/or manages a portfolio of 24 resorts with a total of 8,627 rooms in Mexico, Jamaica and the Dominion Republic, under the Hyatt Zilara, Hyatt Ziva, Hilton All-Inclusive, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, Wyndham Alltra, Seadust, Kimpton, Jewel Resorts and The Luxury Collection brands.

“We are pleased to enter into this agreement with Hyatt and look forward to delivering the many benefits of the transaction to Playa’s shareholders, guests, employees and other stakeholders,” Playa Chairman and CEO Bruce D. Wardinski said in a statement.

Playa Hotels & Resorts revealed the potential for the acquisition in December 2024, when it confirmed it had executed an exclusivity agreement with Hyatt Hotels under which Playa agreed to negotiate exclusively with Hyatt regarding potential strategic options, which could include Hyatt acquiring the company.

“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,” Wardinksi said in a statement.

Playa announced the exclusivity agreement Dec. 23, 2024. At close on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, Playa shares were trading for $9.61.

Hyatt “intends to identify third-party buyers for Playa’s owned properties,” according to a news release, and, following the close of the transaction, anticipates realizing at least $2 billion in proceeds from asset sales by the end of 2027.

The company expects to fund 100% of the acquisition with new debt financing, according to a news release, and to pay down more than 80% of the new debt financing with proceeds from asset sales.

“Hyatt has firmly established itself as a leader in the all-inclusive space, a journey that began in 2013 through an investment in Playa Hotels & Resorts that launched the Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara brands,” Hyatt President and CEO Mark Hoplamazian said in a statement. “We have respected and benefitted from Playa’s operating expertise and outstanding guest experience delivery for years through their ownership and management of eight of our Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara hotels.”