Starwood Rival Takeover Bid: What It Means for Brands, Executives and Shareholders

Starwood Hotels & Resorts' board of directors has exactly until 11:59 p.m. Eastern this Thursday to make a big decision about the future of the global hotel company. At stake is whether or not the Stamford, Connecticut-based company will continue with its $12.2 billion merger agreement with Marriott, or whether it will accept a new $13 billion bid from a group of companies led by Anbang Insurance Group, J.C. Flowers & Co., and Primavera Capital Group. We already know what Marriott is offering to Starwood — primarily, the chance to create the world's largest hotel company, with 1.1 million rooms in more than 5,500 hotels, spread out over 30 brands. If the Marriott-Starwood deal goes through as planned, it would also create the largest hotel loyalty program in the world, and it would give Marriott access to billions in real-estate assets that the company can sell. If Starwood decides to accept this new bid, however, it would have to pay a $400 million breakup fee