Wyndham’s European vacation rental business could sell for $1 billion

Wyndham Worldwide could receive bids of more than $1 billion from buyout firms for its European vacation rentals business, according to the Wall Street Journal.

WSJ reported that Blackstone Group,  the largest US buyout firm, and CVC Capital Partners, the largest buyout firm based in Europe, are among those considering making offers.

Stephen Holmes, Wyndham's chairman and chief executive, said in August that the company is exploring "strategic alternatives" for the European vacation rental businesses, including brands such as Hoseasons and Novasol. Wyndham is spinning off its hotel and timeshare businesses into two separate publicly traded companies and the European rentals business isn't a natural fit under either the hotel or timeshare umbrellas, he said.

The global vacation rentals business was worth $85 billion in 2016, with 1.4 million properties in the U.S. and 4.4 million properties in Europe available, according to Wyndham. The hospitality group manages tens of thousands of properties from cottages to castles in 110 countries around the world. In Europe, Wyndham offers properties from Greece to France, Italy and the UK.

Last month we reported that Airbnb, HomeAway and AccorHotels are also potential buyers.

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