At Marriott International’s annual shareholders meeting on May 6, openly broadcast to the public, CEO Arne Sorenson updated shareholders and listeners about the highly talked-about Starwood deal. He said that the transaction still needs to clear regulatory hurdles, is expected to close mid-year, and will ultimately provide value to Marriott’s shareholders and owners, as well as Starwood and Marriott associates. During the meeting, Sorenson emphasized that Marriott owns less than 10 hotels, which will eventually all be for sale. According to Skift, this means Marriott will likely encourage the sale of Starwood’s 23 owned real estate assets–two that could soon be sold to the Qatar Investment Authority, and five of which will be transferred to Inverval Leisure Group upon the closing of Starwood’s timeshare spinoff. To read more, click here.
