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The
deal, currently worth $12.5 billion, will put Marriott's brands
including the Ritz-Carlton and Starwood's Sheraton and Westin
chains together to create the world's largest hotel company and
is one of many in the sector this year.
Consolidation has picked up pace amid rising competition from
new rivals such as Airbnb and online travel sites such as
booking.com and Tripadvisor <TRIP.O>. The merged company will
have more than 5,500 hotels with 1.1 million rooms worldwide.
The European Commission has not called for a "state of play"
meeting, the person said.
The EU competition enforcer only sets up such meetings when it
has concerns a deal may hurt competition, giving parties an
opportunity to offer concessions during a preliminary review or
face a full-scale investigation.
Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso declined to comment. The
watchdog is scheduled to decide on the deal by June 27. U.S. and
Canadian regulators have already given the green light.
Marriott declined to comment. Starwood did not immediately reply
to an email.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Barbara Lewis and Philip
Blenkinsop)
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