Wyndham Worldwide Corp.'s agreement to purchase fellow hotelier La Quinta Holdings Inc. features a $37.0 million termination fee and a voting agreement with Blackstone Group LP, which owns approximately 30% of La Quinta's outstanding common stock.
La Quinta would be required to pay Wyndham the fee if its shareholders vote down the proposed $1.95 billion acquisition, if the deal is not approved on or before July 17 or if La Quinta enters into a "superior proposal" with another party, among other circumstances.
Blackstone's voting agreement with Wyndham stipulates that Blackstone will vote its shares in favor of the merger and will not solicit or encourage other suitors to propose a deal for La Quinta, nor will it transfer or dispose of its voting shares.
Wyndham also disclosed that it expects to finance the acquisition with a $2 billion senior unsecured bridge term loan provided by Barclays PLC, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Deutsche Bank AF Cayman Islands Branch. The facility will last for 364 days, with the an additional 364-day extension option. Funding of the loan is contingent on the closing of the merger.
