Marriott And Starwood Hotels Issues Update On Merger Process

Marriott International Inc MAR and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc HOT announced on Tuesday that the waiting period under Antitrust laws and regulations expired in connection with Marriott's proposed acquisition of Starwood. Marriott noted that the expiration of the waiting period implies the 2 companies have cleared the premerger antitrust review in the United States which satisfying one of the closing conditions of the pending merger. The company added that a similar premerger waiting period under Canadian law has expired. Marriott noted that it continues to work with competition authorities in other countries and that the date of March 28 set for shareholders to approve the merger remains unchanged. Shares of Marriott were trading higher by 1.20 percent at $68.97 Tuesday afternoon while shares of Starwood were higher by 1.85 percent at $70.39.