By LCN Business Desk
Royal Caribbean Group is buying half of the Caribbean's best-known resort company. It has entered definitive agreements to acquire a 50 per cent equity interest in the business comprising the Sandals and Beaches Resorts for a base purchase price of approximately US$3.0 billion in cash, the company said in an 8-K filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday. It has secured committed debt financing from Morgan Stanley, and expects the transaction to close in early 2027, subject to customary approvals.
The price represents a forward EBITDA multiple of approximately ten times, and the deal is expected to be accretive to earnings next year, the companies said in their joint announcement, issued from Montego Bay and Miami. The joint venture will be governed by a board under the shared leadership of Adam Stewart and Royal Caribbean Group chairman and chief executive Jason Liberty. Stewart stays on as Executive Chairman of Sandals and Beaches Resorts.
| Term | As filed |
|---|---|
| What is being bought | 50 per cent equity interest in Sandals and Beaches Resorts |
| Price | About US$3.0 billion in cash |
| Valuation | About ten times forward EBITDA |
| Financing | Committed debt financing from Morgan Stanley |
| Timing | Expected to close in early 2027, subject to approvals |
| Governance | Board under shared leadership of Stewart and Liberty |
| Advisers, Sandals | BofA Securities and PJT Partners; Latham & Watkins and Jones Day |
| Advisers, Royal Caribbean | Perella Weinberg and Morgan Stanley; Kirkland & Ellis |
Source: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, Form 8-K and Exhibit 99.1, filed 23 September 2026.
Some reports have described a US$6 billion deal. The filing states US$3.0 billion for half the business, which values the whole of Sandals and Beaches at about US$6 billion on that basis, and implies forward EBITDA of roughly US$600 million. Those last two figures are arithmetic from the filed terms, not company statements.
What did the two companies say?
"The Stewart family has created powerful and beloved brands, and we are honored to build on that legacy," Liberty said. Stewart put it against his father's founding of the company: "My father, Gordon 'Butch' Stewart, founded Sandals Resorts with the belief that a company built in the Caribbean could stand on the world stage alongside the most respected names in hospitality. Today is proof of how far that vision can go."
Existing reservations, loyalty programmes, resort operations and cruise operations continue as they are, the announcement says. Royal Caribbean Group operates 71 ships across Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea, holds a 50 per cent interest in TUI Cruises, is building private destinations under Perfect Day and Royal Beach Club, and enters river cruising in 2027.
Where does Guyana come into this?
It asked first. On Saturday 20 June, at the opening of CAMS Motors in Georgetown, President Irfaan Ali appealed directly to Adam Stewart to build an eco-resort in Guyana and said the local private sector was ready to put up an initial US$15 million, Demerara Waves reported.
"You will be doing your brand a great disservice if you don't have the bold capacity that I know your brand carries to make the best possible investment decision Sandals has ever made and that decision is to be to work with our private sector as partners in creating Sandals' number one eco-destination, all-inclusive resort here in Guyana," Ali said. "I can assure you that none will come close to you."
Stewart, in Guyana for the motor venture that includes his ATL Automotive, confirmed the lobbying and did not rule it out. "As I arrived here, we were here to sell cars, but the president reminded me that one of these days we need to build a hotel down here, and I want to follow suit. That's not a public service announcement just yet. It's a 'we love the idea of it'," he said.
Three months later, the company he chairs has a partner with a balance sheet. The announcement says the partnership will accelerate the expansion of Sandals and Beaches and that the companies will explore broader distribution. It names no new country.
What does a cruise line want with resorts?
Rooms on land, sold to the same customer. The joint venture takes Royal Caribbean Group into an adjacent category of what it calls an approximately US$2 trillion global vacation market, alongside the private destinations it is building. The Caribbean's room stock has been moving for other reasons too: Cuba lost two thirds of its visitors and three hotel chains, as La Caribeña News reported in Cuba Lost Two Thirds of Its Visitors, and Meliá's exit from the island was reported in Meliá Exits Cuba as US Sanctions Raise Legal, Financial Hurdles.
Guyana's own tourism case has been built on small numbers and specific assets: a jubilee cruise call put its small-ship business on the map, reported in Diamond Jubilee Cruise Puts Guyana's Small Ship Tourism on the Map, and regional boards have been courting Guyanese travellers rather than the other way round, reported in Grenada Tourism Authority Seeks Business From Guyana's Expanding Travel Market. Caribbean tourism ministers and operators meet in Georgetown from 5 October.
Air links are moving as well. Aeroméxico will fly Mexico City to Montego Bay and Nassau from March 2027, reported in Aeroméxico Will Fly to Jamaica and The Bahamas.
Guyana has an offer of US$15 million from its private sector and a president who made the pitch in public. Sandals now has US$3 billion of new capital and a partner that sells vacations to millions of people a year. What it does not yet have, on the public record, is a Guyanese address.
What the title card shows
- US$3.0 billion: the base purchase price in cash for a 50 per cent equity interest in Sandals and Beaches Resorts. Source: Royal Caribbean 8-K, 23 September 2026.
- Ten times forward EBITDA: the valuation the companies state for the stake. Source: Exhibit 99.1.
- Early 2027: when the transaction is expected to close, subject to approvals. Source: 8-K.
- US$15 million: what Guyana's private sector was ready to invest in a Sandals eco-resort, as President Ali said in June. Source: Demerara Waves.
- No new country is named in the announcement, which speaks of accelerating expansion of the existing Caribbean portfolio. Source: Exhibit 99.1.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is Royal Caribbean paying for Sandals?
About US$3.0 billion in cash for a 50 per cent equity interest in the business comprising Sandals and Beaches Resorts, at approximately ten times forward EBITDA, funded with committed debt financing from Morgan Stanley.
Is Royal Caribbean buying all of Sandals?
No. The filing describes a 50 per cent equity interest and a joint venture governed by a board under the shared leadership of Adam Stewart and Jason Liberty, with Stewart remaining Executive Chairman of Sandals and Beaches Resorts.
When does the deal close?
Early 2027 is expected, subject to customary approvals and closing conditions. The companies expect it to be accretive to earnings next year.
Has Sandals agreed to build in Guyana?
No. President Irfaan Ali asked Adam Stewart publicly in June 2026 to build an eco-resort in Guyana, saying the local private sector would invest an initial US$15 million. Stewart said it was "not a public service announcement just yet". This week's announcement names no new country.