Choice Hotels asks Wyndham to engage in merger talks

Oct 25 (Reuters) – Choice Hotels (CHH.N) said on Wednesday that it had asked the board of U.S. budget hotel operator Wyndham Hotels and Resorts (WH.N) to engage in merger talks.
This comes about a week after Wyndham rejected Choice’s $7.8 billion acquisition offer, deeming it “underwhelming” and citing regulatory risks around a potential deal.
“We respect Wyndham’s desire to achieve the best outcome for its shareholders, but that can’t happen if Wyndham unilaterally ends our discussions,” Choice CEO Patrick Pacious said.
Choice said it first approached Wyndham in April with an $80 per share offer, which it later bumped up to $85. Both companies were within a “negotiable range” on the price a few weeks ago, the Rockville, Maryland-based company said last week.
It said on Wednesday that it was ready to move expeditiously to negotiate the terms for a deal.
Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Pooja Desai
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