Hyatt to buy resort manager Apple Leisure for $2.7 billion
Hyatt Hotels is buying Apple Leisure Group, which manages resorts and operates charter air tours
CHICAGO — Hyatt Hotels will buy resort-management company Apple Leisure Group from two private equity firms for $2.7 billion.
Apple Leisure manages about 100 resorts with more than 33,000 rooms in 10 countries. The acquisition will double Hyatt’s presence in the resort business, the company said.
Travel has surged this year with the arrival of vaccines for COVID-19, but mostly leisure travel. Hyatt is trying to capitalize on that increased mobility.
Hyatt announced the deal with affiliates of private equity firms KKR and KSL Capital Partners on Sunday and said it will close in the fourth quarter.
Apple Leisure’s manages Secrets, Dreams and Breathless resorts. It also operates tour packages to Mexico and the Caribbean.
Hyatt, based in Chicago, said it will fund the purchase from cash including the sale of $2 billion in assets and has a $1.7 billion financing commitment from J.P. Morgan.
Shares of Hyatt Hotels Corp. were flat Monday.
