Green Light given to John Q Hammons Hotels and Barcelo merger talks

John Q. Hammons Hotels’ board of directors agreed to grant limited exclusivity to the Barcelo Crestline Corp. through Jan. 31 to negotiate on a proposed merger between the two companies, the Travel Weekly magazine has reported.

In October, Barcelo Crestline Corp., the parent of Crestline Hotels & Resorts, announced its intention to acquire John Q. Hammons Hotels, an independent developer, owner and manager of 60 hotels and resorts, for 64 million US dollars in cash.

Plans called for renaming the combined company Barcelo Hammons Hotels and Resorts. Its portfolio would encompass 190 properties in the U.S.

The board agreed to the limited exclusivity recommendation as presented by the Special Committee, a group of independent directors reviewing the merger offer. The recommendation was made after Barcelo Crestline increased its offer to acquire John Q. Hammons Hotel’s stock at 21 US dollars per share from a previous offer of $13 per share.

In mid-December, the merger talks hit a snag when the Special Committee reported to John Q. Hammon’s board that it could not support Barcelo Crestline’s proposal to acquire its stock at $13 per share. At that time, John Q. Hammons Hotels also indicated that it was weighing other offers.