LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. hospitality company Wyndham Worldwide Corp. (WYN.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is considering small "tuck-in" brand acquisitions with partners who can take on any real estate that comes with the deals, a top executive said on Monday.
The company, which owns hotel brands such as Wyndham, Ramada, Days Inn and Baymont, will look at acquisitions across all segments of the business, including luxury chains, Wyndham Hotel Group Chief Executive Steven Rudnitsky said at the Reuters Hotels and Casinos 2007 Summit in Los Angeles.
"We are always going be looking at various tuck-in acquisitions ... to broaden and to round out our portfolio," Rudnitsky said. "We'll look at a variety of different opportunities across a variety of different sectors."
The company will look at acquisitions along with partners, who can buy any underlying real estate that comes with hotels, Rudnitsky said.
"There are plenty of people in the market today that really just want to be asset holders," he said. "We like to sell and market brands."
Wyndham is one of three businesses sold or spun off by Cendant Corp. last year. The others the conglomerate spun off included its real estate operations into Realogy Corp. (H.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) its Travelport travel unit to Blackstone Group. Cendant has since changed its name to Avis Budget Group Inc. (CAR.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and is now chiefly a car rental company.
Besides lodging, Parsippany, New Jersey-based Wyndham Worldwide operates timeshare and vacation rental and exchange businesses.
Rudnitsky said Wyndham, which is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results on Tuesday, was undervalued compared to others in the hotel industry.
"We need to continue to demonstrate our ability to grow the business organically in a way that the Street understands and live up to our commitments," Rudnitsky said. "I know we will continue to do so."
© Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.
| Health | Nov 09 - 12, 2009 | Health |
| Autos | Nov 02 - 4, 2009 | Autos |
| Middle East Investment | Oct 26 - 28, 2009 | Country Summits |
| Washington | Oct 19 - 21, 2009 | Country Summits |
| Global Wealth Management | Oct 05 - 7, 2009 | Financial Services / Exchanges |
