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CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL ended its bid to acquire Wyndham Hotels & Resorts after its exchange offer expired Friday. Both companies released statements saying they will now focus on their standalone strategies. Choice also announced that it would withdraw its nominees for Wyndham's board of directors. Last week it made a last effort to encourage Wyndham shareholders to tender shares for the acquisition but still failed to gather sufficient support for the deal. "Since beginning this process in April 2023, Choice has attempted to engage in good-faith negotiations with Wyndham through numerous different avenues, including increasing the proposed offer multiple times and expressing an openness to further enhancing the offer with due diligence, offering a one-way NDA to share its confidential information with Wyndham, and offering above-market regulatory protections," the company said. "Given Wyndham's refusal to constructively and substantively engage on terms, Choice took the extraordinary step of launching the exchange offer to initiate the regulatory review process and engage with Wyndham stockholders. While the support from Wyndham stockholders tendering into the exchange offer was significant considering the number of investors structurally prevented from participating at this stage, it was not sufficient for Choice to conclude - particularly when taking into account the Wyndham board's obvious continuing disinterest in a combination - that a path towards a transaction is available at this time."