S&P: No change to Gaylord

Standard & Poor's said its corporate credit rating on Gaylord Entertainment Co. is not currently affected by Gaylord's agreement to sell the Gaylord Hotels brand and management rights for its four Gaylord-branded hotels to Marriott International Inc. for $210 million.

According to S&P, Gaylord will continue to own its hotel properties and other businesses. It will also reorganize and elect to be treated as a real estate investment trust effective Jan. 1, 2013. The agreement calls for Marriott to manage the hotels for an initial 35-year term, and for Gaylord to pay a base management fee equal to 2% of revenue and an incentive fee based upon hotel profitability.

The agency said it believes Gaylord's hotels may achieve some added revenue benefit as a part of Marriott's system, but as compensation Gaylord will pay annual fees of about $25 million in 2013.

However, the agency said these fee payments should not have a negative impact on Gaylord's annual cash flow, because of estimated synergies stemming from the reduction of corporate, technology and reservation systems costs.

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