Cendant and Marriott Announce Ramada International Acquisition

On 15/09/2004, Cendant Corporation and Marriott International announced a proposed transaction involving Ramada International Hotels & Resorts, advancing plans to consolidate the Ramada hotel brand's international and North American operations. The agreement covered 204 hotels comprising approximately 27,728 guest rooms across 26 countries and territories. At the time, Marriott controlled Ramada's international brand interests, while Cendant operated the Ramada franchise system in the United States and Canada. The proposed acquisition was intended to bring the international business under Cendant's ownership, creating a more unified structure for the brand's worldwide franchising and development activities. The announcement followed earlier changes to Ramada's ownership arrangements, including Marriott's acquisition of Ramada International interests through Renaissance Hotel Group in 1997. The proposed transaction involved the transfer of international brand and franchise interests rather than the direct purchase of every hotel property operating under the Ramada name. The agreement established the basis for Cendant's subsequent acquisition of Ramada International, completed later in 2004, and brought the brand's geographically separated operations closer to common corporate management.