JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - United States hotel giant Marriott announced on Wednesday it had finalised a deal to buy the South African-headquartered Protea group, Africa's largest hotel chain, for US$186 million (S$238 million).

"Marriott and Protea plan to close the transaction on April 1, 2014," the firm said in a statement.

The Protea has a high profile in South Africa and in total has 116 hotels and 10,148 rooms in seven African countries.

The purchase is subject to regulatory approval.