Why Hilton Grand Vacations Upped the Bid in $1.4 Billion Timeshare Takeover
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Major travel companies like Hilton Grand Vacations are pumping millions, if not billions, of dollars into the idea travelers favor the familiarity of a brand. If it pays off, the vacuum of boutique offerings will be the next travel investment opportunity.
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Editor’s Note: Skift Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill brings readers exclusive reporting and insights into hotel deals and development, and how those trends are making an impact across the travel industry.
After watching their stock price fall 68 percent from just mid-February to mid-March 2020, the leaders at Hilton Grand Vacations began talks two months later with another timeshare company, Diamond Resorts, about an acquisition.
The agreed-upon sales price shows how the travel industry sees much of its future tied to branded properties coming out of the pandemic.
The Hilton Grand Vacations team initially floated the idea last October of an all-stock acquisition of Diamond Resorts at an equity value of $840 million, according to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
By the time a deal was announced last month, Diamond was slated to sell for $1.4 billion — a hefty climb considering the travel industry was still in tumult and wasn’t wearing the rose-colored glasses it appears to have slipped on in recent weeks.
Hilton Grand Vacations was willing to play ball based on branding potential it sees lacking in the timeshare space. That has ramifications that
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