Starwood’s Timeshare Spinoff Is Approved by Interval Shareholders

Starwood Hotels and Resorts’ spinoff of its timeshare business, Vistana Signature Experiences, is nearly complete.

Today, shareholders from Miami-based Interval Leisure Group (ILG), to whom Starwood is selling Vistana, approved the $1.5 billion acquisition by 95 percent of votes cast, representing 92 percent of shares.

“We are pleased by the overwhelming support our stockholders expressed for this transaction,” Craig M. Nash, chairman, president, and CEO of ILG said in a statement. “Their strong endorsement reaffirms our belief that this acquisition is in the best long-term interests of our company and our stockholders. We look forward to the closing and to successfully integrating these two industry-leading businesses.”

The sale of Vistana Signature Experiences to ILG was announced in October 2015, prior to the November 2015 agreement that Starwood made with Marriott International in November 2015. The merger has already cleared anti-trust reviews in the U.S. and Mexico, and ILG expects the transaction to close on April 30.

Under the agreement, a wholly owned subsidiary of ILG will acquire and then merge with and into Vistana Signature Experiences. When the deal closes, Starwood stockholders will retain a 55 percent stake in Vistana.

Vistana comprises 22 timeshare resorts with approximately 220,000 timeshare owners. Under the terms of the deal, ILG will have the rights to use the Westin and Sheraton brands in vacation ownership, and existing timeshare owners for the resorts can continue to use the Starwood Preferred Guest program.