Hammons reaches agreement with JQH Acquisitions

The Springfield hotel magnate and principal shareholder of John Q. Hammons Hotels Inc. has reached a tentative agreement with an investor group led by Delaware-based JQH Acquisitions LLC.

The investment group, which has been negotiating exclusively with Hammons since February, also reconfirmed its offer to acquire the company’s Class-A shares for $24 per share, or about $132.5 million.

Hammons Hotels Vice President Scott Tarwater said the agreement will take the company private, though there should be no noticeable effect on daily operations.

“(Hammons) will be merging his shares in with the new company,” Tarwater said. “We will retain the management rights to all the hotels, and it will be business as usual.”

Though the major players in the negotiations have reached a consensus on the most significant aspects of the agreement, Tarwater said it is not yet a done deal.

“All of the dangling participles have got to be wrapped up – that will be done by June 2, and the ensuing documentation and paperwork will be completed by the end of June,” he said. “Then it will go to the (Securities and Exchange Commission) for stockholder consideration and approval, and I would look for a late August or early September closing date.”

The special committee created by the company for the merger talks approved the deal, allowing extra time for the appropriate documentation to be finalized before the deal is reviewed by the SEC and the other stockholders.

The agreement could bring a conclusion to merger talks ongoing since October.

The first proposed partner, Virginia-based Barceló Crestline Corp., originally offered $13 per share for the stock, but an agreement could not be reached. Barceló ended its exclusive negotiations with Hammons in January.

Shares of Hammons Hotels (AMEX: JQH) closed May 25 at $23.03, just under the stock’s 52-week high of $23.49 per share.

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