LOCAL : Motel 6 Will Buy Sixpence Inns

Sixpence Inns of America, a Santa Ana-based chain of economy motels, has agreed to be acquired by Motel 6 for about $210 million in cash and limited partnership units.

Under the agreement, Sixpence’s 49 motels in six states will become Motel 6s except where the chains overlap, a Motel 6 spokesman said. Ernest Doe, Sixpence’s vice president of finance, said Sixpence Inns that are close to Motel 6s probably will remain open under the Sixpence name and not be closed or sold. Sixpence is an 18-year-old, privately owned chain with 36 motels in California, including those in Anaheim, Buena Park, Orange, Tustin and Westminster. Motel 6 is the nation’s largest chain of economy hotels and one of the world’s biggest chains that owns and operates its own properties, Doe said.