SPOKANE, WA—The industry is seeing more gobbling up of guestrooms via M&A as RLHC has inked a definitive agreement to acquire the brands and operations of Coral Springs, FL-based Vantage Hospitality Group, Inc., for $23 million in cash and 690,000 shares of the company’s common stock.
RLHC will acquire substantially all of the hospitality-related assets and operations of Vantage and its parent company used in connection with the businesses conducted under the following names, as well as their brand extensions and international counterparts: Vantage Hotels; Americas Best Value Inn; Canadas Best Value Inn; Lexington by Vantage; America’s Best Inns and Suites; Country Hearth Inns; Jameson Inns; Signature Inn; and 3 Palms Hotels & Resorts.
The assets include, but are not limited to the membership, franchise and license agreements, equipment and machinery, customer lists, trademarks and trade names, records, supplies and accounts receivable of the business, according to the company.
If and when closed, the deal would grow RLHC’s franchised network from 113 hotels and 14,200 rooms to more than 1,100 hotels representing 73,200 rooms.
“The acquisition of Vantage Hospitality Group’s operations establishes RLHC as one of the largest hotel franchisors, adding approximately 1,000 hotel franchise, membership and licensing agreements to our growing brand family,” said RLHC President/CEO Greg Mount. “Vantage has built a distinctive and highly successful platform over the last 16 years…Vantage’s current leadership and staff in Coral Springs will become the hub for all RLHC select-service brand operations. We look forward to harnessing our collective strengths to drive growth for our franchisees, superior service for our guests and accretion for our shareholders.”
Additional compensation of up to $7 million in cash and an additional 690,000 shares may be earned contingent upon the achievement of certain performance metrics at the first and second anniversaries of the pending transaction, according to the agreement. The additional consideration includes a $1 million minimum cash payment on the first and second anniversaries.
“We are excited to become part of the RLHC family of brands,” said Roger Bloss, founder/president/CEO of Vantage. “Joining RLHC’s platform will provide our members with additional resources to grow their businesses and our guests with a broad array of brands to enjoy. Vantage’s COO, Bernie Moyle, and I are proud that we will be contributing to RLHC’s strategic growth plan and are excited about leading the select-service brands initiative….”