Starwood Hotels Resorts Worldwide Inc

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., the world's largest hotel owner, agreed to buy Vistana Inc. for about $645 million in cash, stock and assumed debt, to enter the time-share resort business. White Plains, N.Y.-based Starwood said it will pay $19 a share, 10% more than Vistana's closing price Friday. Vistana holders would receive $5 a share in cash and the rest in Starwood stock. Starwood also would assume about $240 million of debt. Orlando, Fla.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., the world's largest hotel owner, appointed a committee of directors to investigate Chairman Barry Sternlicht's controversial investment in Priceline.com Inc. The panel was appointed in response to a lawsuit filed against Starwood by a group of shareholders, Sternlicht said. The suit alleged that Sternlicht breached his fiduciary responsibility by investing personally in Priceline instead of having Starwood make the investment.

Former U.S. Sen. George J. Mitchell, recently tapped as chairman of Walt Disney Co., is scaling back another board commitment. Mitchell will leave the board of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., the owner of the Sheraton and Westin chains, at its annual meeting May 7, according to a regulatory filing. Neither Starwood nor Mitchell commented on the reason for his retirement. Mitchell, 70, joined the board of the White Plains, N.Y.-based company in 1997.

Shares of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. rose 16% on Friday after the company agreed to notify Sam Zell's Equity Group Investments, one of its largest investors, of any asset sale or third-party takeover offer. Starwood shares climbed $2.90 to $20.80, their highest close since Nov. 4. The shares lost 59% last year. The hotel company said in a regulatory filing after markets closed Dec.

Park Place Entertainment Corp., the world's largest casino operator, said Tuesday that it agreed to buy the Caesars World casino chain from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. for $3 billion in cash to expand in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, N.J. Caesars is the sixth-largest U.S. casino chain. Park Place, spun off from Hilton Hotels Corp. in December, owns the Hilton, Bally's and Grand casino chains.

The union representing workers in contentious contract negotiations with nine local hotels said it would file a lawsuit today against Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. alleging unfair job practices. The lawsuit will accuse two hotels managed by Starwood, the St.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. President and Chief Operating Officer Richard Nanula resigned under pressure after only a year at the White Plains, N.Y.-based company. Starwood said there were no immediate plans to name a successor. The chief executives of Starwood's hotel and gaming units will now report directly to Chairman Barry Sternlicht. Sternlicht hired former Walt Disney Co.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. said Tuesday it never received a bid from an Internet porn company for its Caesars World casino chain, and Park Place Entertainment Corp., which already agreed to buy Caesars, said it won't respond to the offer. Ocean Fund International, which says it runs the world's largest Internet sex site, said in a statement Monday night that it offered $3.6 billion in cash for the eight Caesars casinos.

A group that includes Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and the founder of the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain will be allowed to buy the Aladdin Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, a bankruptcy judge ruled Friday. The purchase was endorsed by creditors for the property's owner, Aladdin Gaming, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001, 13 months after the hotel opened.

Host Marriott Corp. will buy 38 hotels from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. for about $3.4 billion in a deal that Starwood hopes will free it to build its luxury brands and that boosts Host's upscale and overseas hotel and resort holdings. The deal announced Monday between the two lodging companies calls for Bethesda, Md.-based Host to give Starwood shareholders $2.33 billion of Host stock and pay $1.06 billion in cash. Host would also take on $700 million of debt as part of the deal.