Marriott Intn'l ups Starwood merger offer to $13.6 billion

Marriott International president and CEO Arne Sorenson said in a Linkedin post that Marriott has revised the agreement to merge with Starwood. Under the revised deal, signed with the Starwood Board of Directors, shareholders will receive 0.80 shares of Marriott stock plus $21.00 in cash for every share of Starwood common stock. This increases the total amount to be paid to a Starwood shareholder from $69.31 to $79.53 per share, based on the $73.16 closing price of Marriott stock on March 18, which represents a total value of $13.6 billion.  This revised agreement offers superior value for Starwood’s shareholders, the ability to close quickly, and provides value creation potential that will allow both sets of shareholders to benefit from improved financial performance.

"We remain confident that, together, we can create value and stay competitive in a quickly-evolving marketplace. The combination of Marriott and Starwood will create a premier lodging company with 5,700 hotels and over 1.1 million rooms that will benefit guests, associates, owners, franchisees and shareholders," said Sorenson in his Linkedin post.


Pasted below are extracts from his Linkedin post:

In my previous LinkedIn posts about the merger, I talked about the business rationale for the merger and what it means for the people involved, including our associates, our guests and our communities. I now think it is important to reiterate the value of this transaction. Beyond the math, the strategic story behind this combination has not changed.

Since we announced the merger in November 2015, our integration teams have met on average multiple times a week across disciplines. As a result of our extensive due diligence and joint integration planning, we are now even more confident in the potential of cost savings of this transaction.  We now expect to achieve $250 million in annual cost synergies within two years after closing, up from the $200 million estimated in November 2015 when we announced the original merger agreement.

Together, our enhanced loyalty programs will increase access to consumers in the lifestyle segment, open opportunities for new partnerships, and have greater effectiveness versus digital competition.

Our sales integration will result in our portfolio benefiting from exposure to Starwood’s brand-loyal, affluent consumers. Starwood’s portfolio will benefit from Marriott’s expertise in corporate, group and mid-market segments. This combination is also an opportunity to introduce key brands to underrepresented markets.

Finally, our strong free cash flow will reinforce the value of our asset-light business model.

With such meaningful cost efficiencies and new opportunities, we will be ideally positioned to offer guests unique experiences that will drive guest loyalty.  This in turn drives higher revenue opportunities and the addition of new hotels to our combined system should drive greater preference for our brands with owners and franchisees. 

Together, we will offer broader choices to our guests across the world and provide greater opportunities for our associates. With our scale, we will be able to better respond to technology disruptions. Starwood shareholders will also benefit from Marriott’s multi-year industry leading unit growth and consistent return of capital.

As I’ve said before, this combination brings together two of the most talented and experienced teams in the industry. Guests, associates, owners and franchisees can look forward to a combination that promotes innovative ideas and service commitment, along with unprecedented choice, value and access to 30 leading brands across more than 100 countries.

'We are working towards launching 15 models by 2020,' Kenichi Ayukawa, MD & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd

Kenichi Ayukawa, MD & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) shares his views on the company, industry and challenges ahead. Edited excerpts...

We are seeing quite a few products from India now. What in your view will be the role of R&D going forward?
Our research and development (R&D) centre was set up in order to develop products while also be close to the market and have faster product development cycles. We've got a testing track as well at the new R&D centre at Rohtak, which now leads to a lot of savings on time. That is why Rohtak will contribute to product development in India. We are one team. There will be lot of collaborative R&D between Suzuki and Maruti. Together we will strengthen our presence in the Mini, compact and sedan segment and SUV segment.

Suzuki has outlined 20 models in 5 years under Suzuki NEXT100 plan. How many of these will be developed in India?

Out of the 20 models planned, 15 will come to India. Already our engineers are doing some work. Brezza has been created in India and CV Raman is the chief engineer for the product. Development cycle is 4-5 years long usually. We are currently sending 50-100 engineers to Japan to study with the team there, to train and learn. While total responsibility is difficult, we are developing capabilities of people and working towards having more Indian inputs into product development. I expect them to develop at least 2-3 models in future.

Suzuki has outlined 2.2 million units from Asia by fiscal 2019. Comment. Hopefully 2 million of this will be from India, this is if the industry size will be 4.8-4.9 million.
 
There is a shift in the Indian car market. What is the impact for Maruti Suzuki?

We will continue to meet customer requirements. Our main product has been the 800 cc model, and we are now moving to 1000 cc, 1.2 litre, 1.3 litre, engine sizes. Cars are getting bigger, engines are getting bigger. Customer demand is also changing – customers are directly buying the Swift as their first car. We are at approximately 45% market share and we are working towards the remaining 55% customers that are not buying Maruti Suzuki. That has been the reason behind Nexa, which will contribute 15-20% to the total volume. For this new channel, we need new products and new models, and we are working towards that with 15 models to be launched by 2020 we target to bring models in new segments. It is not size alone, we have to overall improve the product, make it more fuel efficient, low on emissions, enhance safety.

You have stated your product focus to be in the mini to C segment. Does this mean that you will stay away from D, E segments entirely?

Suzuki’s home-ground is the A, B, C segment products. The first point is whether we have fully covered that segment yet or not. If the customer is interested in D, then we need to think of how to satisfy him. Currently, there is limited demand in the D segment. As it gets bigger, we will see. Right now, we would like to focus on A, B and C segments, improve them in all aspects, fuel efficiency, features, safety etc.

Any apprehension that you may have run out of capacity in near future?

We are at 1.5 million in Haryana and we have some room in increasing productivity and capacity expansion. Regarding Gujarat, the plant will be completed by end-March. By 2017 spring, we can start production. Phase one will add 250,000 units annually. Overall, I think we can manage.
 
What's you take on the Diesel ban? Are you worried?

Yes we are worried. Pollution is severe, we have to understand and recognize that. Whether banning is a good solution or not, needs to be assessed. Banning does not help. In fact, old vehicles on roads pollute much more.

India is an automotive hub and the largest market for SMC. Will exports increase in the near future?

Yes India as a market is poised to grow and with the Gujarat plant, we will need more capacities. Our focus in our domestic market and we will have to increase product portfolio. We aim for 3 million capacity right now and more products are in the way. We are exporting too and markets such as Middle East and Africa are growing.

After main-streaming of the Auto Gear Shift technology, what is next?

We have to continue to develop AGS and after WagonR, Alto, Celerio and Dzire, we want to keep expanding the AGS in our other products too.

What is your take on implementation of BS VI norms by 2020?

The technology to implement and use BS VI exists but OEMs need lead time. India needs to still get rid of models that are running on BS I, BS II and BS III.

What's your outlook for the industry for 2016 and for Maruti?

We are looking forward to good products and have been preparing for a few years now. We have a good production capacity with a total of 1.5 million. Increasing demand can be met sales wise and via new channels. For the sector, the demand for products is improving gradually with new products for the customers being launched. Also good products will succeed and trend will continue and the total volume will increase. Industry has outlined growth of 10-12 %, MSIL will grow by double digit in FY 16-17.

Nokia and Indian Institute of Technology-Madras partner for broadband connectivity in rural India

The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) has entered a three-year partnership with Nokia to create technology solutions that will enhance broadband connectivity in rural India. The project will evaluate the option of using unlicensed spectrum to deliver cost-efficient, last-mile broadband connectivity to remote rural communities in India, complementing the government’s National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) initiative. As part of the deal, Nokia will fund and provide technological expertise for research at IIT-M’s Center of Excellence for Wireless Technology (CEWiT).

The research project aims to bridge the connectivity divide in India by broadening the reach of broadband in rural areas. As part of this research,  CEWiT at IIT-M will undertake the following measures:

- Verify the feasibility of using unlicensed spectrum radio access technologies for cost-efficient, last-mile broadband connectivity

- Complement the Indian government’s ambitious plans of providing fiber optic connectivity to 230,000 gram panchayats* by providing last-mile connectivity from gram panchayats to their respective villages

- Create effective low cost rural access solutions based on Wi-Fi technology

Commenting on the association, Sandeep Girotra, vice president and head of India region, Nokia, said, "India is on the cusp of a digital revolution. We are really excited about this research collaboration with IIT-Madras, which will leverage its talent and innovation to drive the Indian government’s vision of empowering rural communities through broadband connectivity – an initiative that will revolutionize access to government services and the Internet.The successful implementation of this project is a key social development objective for Nokia in India.”

Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, said that together with Nokia, IIT-Madras, through its Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology, will explore new avenues for getting affordable wireless broadband technology to rural India in an effort to bridge the digital divide. "Our research will focus on leveraging the power of the Internet to accelerate the development of India's rural communities, home to the vast majority of India's population,” he said.

The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras is one among the foremost institutes of national importance in higher technological education, basic and applied research. It s a residential institute with nearly 550 faculty, 8000 students and 1250 administrative & supporting staff and is a self-contained campus located in a beautiful wooded land of about 250 hectares. The Institute has sixteen academic departments and a few advanced research centres in various disciplines of engineering and pure sciences, with nearly 100 laboratories organized in a unique pattern of functioning. It has established itself as a premier centre for teaching, research and industrial consultancy in India.