The Financial Times is reporting that Royal Caribbean is reportedly nearing a US$3-billion deal to acquire a 50 per cent stake in Sandals Resorts, in a move that could have major implications for Jamaica's tourism industry.
The FT quotes a person familiar with the negotiations as saying the deal would value the Caribbean resort company at about US$6 billion.
The talks are ongoing and may not ultimately result in an agreement.
The proposed investment would give Royal Caribbean, one of the world's major cruise companies, a significant presence in the all-inclusive resort market through Sandals and its Beaches brand, which operate more than a dozen properties across the Caribbean.
Royal Caribbean has been seeking to expand beyond cruises and strengthen its land-based vacation offerings.
Royal Caribbean's shares fell about six per cent following news of the potential deal.
Neither Royal Caribbean nor Sandals has publicly confirmed the proposed transaction.
This is not the first time there has been talk of the Stewart Family selling the hotel chain; Last year March the Wall Street Journal reported that Sandals was reportedly exploring a sale of the company.
And in May 2017, Reuters reported that Sandals Resorts engaged Deutsche Bank to review growth and sale options.
Nothing came of those two deals.
This development comes amid ongoing internal family fued following the death of founder Gordon "Butch" Stewart in 2021.
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