Marriott sells Ramada brand

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Marriott International Inc. said yesterday it has agreed to sell Ramada International Hotels & Resorts to the largest travel and real estate services company in the country, New York’s Cendant Corp.Earlier this year, Cendant bought the U.S. Ramada and Days Inn hotel brands from Bethesda-based Marriott for about $200 million.The companies did not disclose financial terms of the deal announced yesterday. The sale is expected to close within the next few months.

“We [sold the international Ramadas] because it’s in our best interests. We believe this will benefit the brand by integrating the two systems into one brand,” a Marriott spokesman said.Cendant will gain all worldwide trademarks to the brand. Ramada International Hotels & Resorts franchises 204 hotels with nearly 28,000 rooms in 26 countries and territories.Neither Marriott nor Cendant anticipates any significant financial impact from the transaction, the companies said in a joint statement.Analysts do not consider the latest sale to be a material development for either company. Ramada International is not part of Marriott’s core business so the company should not be affected by the sale, said an analyst who declined to be identified. Also, Cendant has held long-term licensing rights to the Ramada name within the United States, the analyst added. The transaction will “unite the Ramada brand as a worldwide entity under a single company and further demonstrate Cendant Hotel Group’s commitment to the brand,” Steven A. Rudnitsky, the chairman and chief executive officer of Cendant Hotel Group, said in a statement.“When completed, this purchase of Ramada International will extend our control of the brand throughout the world and integrate two systems currently led separately by Cendant and Marriott,” he said. “Both domestic and international franchisees would benefit from sharing of best practices while retaining the unique cultural approaches to doing business in each respective country.”Marriott acquired the rights to Ramada in 1997. The company continued to license the Ramada name in the United States to Cendant under existing long-term agreements. Marriott and Cendant created a joint venture in 2002, which licensed the trademarks for Ramada and Days Inn within the country. Cendant bought Marriott’s portion earlier this year.On the New York Stock Exchange, Marriott stock closed yesterday at $48.97, down 20 cents or 0.4 percent. Cendant closed at $22.04, down 24 cents or 1.1 percent.The Associated Press and Bloomberg contributed to this article.