Marriott buys Starwood, creating the world’s largest hotel company

Marriott International has bought Starwood Hotels for $12.2 billion, creating the world’s largest hotel company with over 5,550 franchised hotels in more than 100 countries.

Marriott expects $200 million in annual cost savings. “This is an opportunity to create value by combining the distribution and strengths of Marriott and Starwood, enhancing our competitiveness in a quickly evolving marketplace,” said the Marriott president and chief executive.