Marriott Says Share Repurchases Will Resume 'Immediately'

Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ: MAR) announced on Tuesday morning that it has filed a joint proxy and registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission relating to its proposed acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc (NYSE: HOT).

Marriott said that once the acquisition is complete, it will operate the world's largest hotel company with more than 5,500 hotels in over 100 countries. The combined entity will be named Marriott International, Inc.

During the preparation of the registration statement, Marriott had been prohibited from buying back its own stock. Now that the filing has been submitted, Marriott confirmed it will resume its share repurchase plan "immediately."

Marriott noted that for the full year 2015, approximately $2.2 billion will be returned to investors through share repurchases and dividends.

Shares of Marriott were trading higher at $67.37, up 3.38 percent shortly after Tuesday's opening bell while shares of Starwood were also higher by 3.07 percent, trading at $68.17.