US: Vacation home ownership company Hilton Grand Vacations has agreed to buy Florida-based brand Bluegreen Vacations for $1.5 billion, including debt.
The all-cash transaction for $75 per share is expected to close in the first half of 2024.
As a result of the acquisition, Hilton Grand Vacations’ membership base will increase by at least 200,000 members and its resort portfolio will rise to almost 200 properties in eight new states.
The company’s management team, including Mark Wang [president and CEO], CFO Dan Mathewes and COO Gordon Gurnik, are expected to continue serving in their current roles in the combined company once the transaction closes.
The deal is estimated to generate around $100 million in cost synergies in the opening 12 months and between $75 million and $100 million in future revenue synergies after that.
In addition, Hilton Grand Vacations has signed an exclusive ten-year marketing agreement with sporting goods retailer Bass Pro Shops. Bluegreen Vacations currently owns a 51 per cent stake of a joint venture with the company that includes four outdoor resorts.
Boca Raton-based Bluegreen Vacations has 49 Club Resorts and 24 Associate Resorts in its portfolio in vacation destinations such as Orlando, Panama City Beach, Las Vegas, the Smoky Mountains, Myrtle Beach, Charleston, the Branson, Missouri area, Nashville and New Orleans.
Alan Levan, chairman and CEO of Bluegreen Vacations, said: “Today’s announcement represents another exciting chapter for Bluegreen Vacations. Combining with HGV will create an even more compelling vacation ownership offering, continuing to provide our owners and guests with enjoyable and unique experiences across a broader range of world-class destinations.”
Mark Wang, president and CEO of Hilton Grand Vacations, said: “I’m excited to enhance the breadth and quality of our already best-in-class vacation ownership and experiences offering with the announcement of our agreement to acquire Bluegreen Vacations. Bluegreen Vacations has a strong track record of demonstrated organic growth, a dedicated customer base of more than 200,000 members, and boasts key lead-generating strategic partnerships that will broaden our reach and diversify our tour flow.
“Along with our long-standing relationship with Hilton, this highly complementary combination will also unlock additional upside by leveraging the infrastructure we have built over the past few years with the launch of the Hilton Vacation Club brand, our HGV Max membership offering, the HGV Ultimate Access experiential platform. I’m particularly excited about the opportunity to enter into a new relationship with Bass Pro Shops and its actively engaged, loyal community of outdoor enthusiasts,” he added.
In March 2021, Hilton Grand Vacations announced that it was buying Las Vegas-based timeshare operator Diamond Resorts International in a stock deal with an equity value of approximately $1.4 billion. The company’s shareholders bought 72 per cent of the combined firm.
