Hyatt Hotels Corporation H has announced an agreement stating the acquisition of Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V. PLYA in an all-cash transaction.
Per the agreement, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Hyatt will acquire all outstanding shares of Playa Hotels for $13.50 per share. The buyout is expected to close in the latter half of 2025 upon satisfying regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Through this strategic transaction, Hyatt will be offering a 40% premium to Playa Hotels’ shareholders on its unaffected stock price, before the disclosure of exclusive discussions.
Upon the buyout announcement, H stock inched down 1% during Monday’s trading session and 0.6% in the after-hours.
Hyatt’s Portfolio Expansion Efforts Foster Growth
Hyatt is consistently trying to expand its presence worldwide and has expansion plans in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. The expansion initiatives include acquisitions, collaborations and organic enhancements like new openings across its vast portfolio of brands.
The company’s few profitable buyouts include Smith Global Limited and Apple Leisure Group. Smith Global Limited, carrying out business as Mr. & Mrs. Smith, is a London-based platform that offers direct booking access to more than 1500 boutique and luxury properties across the globe. Furthermore, the acquisition of Apple Leisure Group not only doubled Hyatt’s portfolio but also boosted its European footprint by more than 60% through the integration of its luxury resort offerings.
Notably, the strategic joint venture agreements with Grupo Piñero and Kiraku, along with the acquisition of Standard International, are a few of the many portfolio expansion efforts of Hyatt. These positions the company well to enhance its profitability structure and top-line growth through 2025 and beyond.
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Shares of this global hospitality company have gained 22.3% in the past year compared with the Zacks Hotels and Motels industry’s 26.9% growth. The challenges like soft leisure transient demand trends in the United States and Greater China, coupled with global geopolitical unrest, are restrictions to its prospects. However, organic and inorganic growth initiatives, loyalty programs and an asset-light business model bode well for Hyatt’s prospects.
H’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Hyatt currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Here are some better-ranked stocks from the Consumer Discretionary sector.
Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. LTH currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.
LTH has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 46.2%, on average. The stock has soared 130.1% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LTH’s fiscal 2025 sales and earnings per share implies growth of 12% and 49.7%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.
Trip.com Group Limited TCOM presently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. TCOM has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 42.8%, on average. The stock has surged 71% in the past year.
The consensus estimate for TCOM’s 2025 sales and EPS implies growth of 15.1% and 7.4%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
