Interval buying Starwood?s vacation-ownership business

Interval Leisure Group announced it will buy hotel operator Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc’s vacation ownership business, which it valued at about US$1.5 billion.
ILG, which provides non-traditional lodging such as vacation rentals, said a unit would buy the business, Vistana Signature Experiences, after Starwood ? which itself has been seeking a buyer ? spins it off, Reuters reported.
The deal will give ILG exclusive rights to Starwood’s Sheraton and Westin brands in the vacation ownership market.
On completion of the deal, Starwood shareholders will own about 55 percent of the combined vacation ownership business on a fully diluted basis and ILG shareholders will own the rest.
Starwood, which also owns the St. Regis brand, said in February that it would spin off Vistana, which operates high-end time-share resorts, as a part of its ?asset-light? strategy to focus on operating properties instead of owning them.