By Connor Hart

Hyatt Hotels has agreed to acquire Playa Hotels & Resorts for roughly $2.6 billion, including $900 million in debt.

The purchase will expand the Chicago hotel operator's portfolio of all-inclusive resorts, it said Monday. The company entered the all-inclusive space with an investment in Amsterdam-based Playa Hotels in 2013, launching its Ziva and Zilara brands.

Under the terms of the deal, Hyatt will acquire all outstanding shares of Playa Hotels that it doesn't already own for $13.50 apiece, representing a total cost of about $2.6 billion, including about $900 million of debt.

The company currently owns about 9.4% of Playa Hotel's outstanding shares. Playa Hotels owns and operates all-inclusive resorts in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.

"This pending transaction allows us to broaden our portfolio while providing more value to all of our stakeholders through an expanded management platform for all-inclusive resorts," Chief Executive Mark Hoplamazian said.

Hyatt said it expects to totally fund the acquisition with new debt financing. The company also intends to identify third-party buyers for Playa Hotel's owned properties, anticipating at least $2 billion of proceeds from asset sales by the end of 2027. It will pay down its new debt financing with returns from these sales, it said.

Since entering the all-inclusive market in 2013, Hyatt has grown its share. The company acquired Apple Leisure Group in 2021 and completed a joint venture with Grupo Piñero in 2024, adding the Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts portfolio to its all-inclusive collection, which currently spans approximately 55,000 rooms across Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe.

Its purchase of Playa Hotels will provide an opportunity to secure long-term management agreements for its all-inclusive Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara branded properties, the company said. It will additionally expand Hyatt's distribution channels.

The deal is expected to close later this year, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, as well as other customary closing conditions.

Shares of Playa rose 2.3% to $13.24 in premarket trading, while Hyatt's stock slipped 0.4% to $163.31.

Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 10, 2025 07:36 ET (12:36 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.