IHG mulling bids for Movenpick, Fairmont; IHG’s talks with Starwood failed due to regulatory concerns
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is mulling takeover offers for Canadian rival Fairmont and Swiss competitor Movenpick, The Sunday Times reported. The newspaper cited insiders who said IHG had yet to decide whether to approach either target. IHG’s management team is “conservative” and would not be drawn into an expensive bid battle, according to one source cited by the newspaper.
IHG, an FTSE-100 hotels operator, on 30 July said it was not in discussions regarding an offer for Stamford, Connecticut-based rival Starwood Hotels and Resorts [NYSE:HOT]. The denial followed a Financial Times report the same day that said IHG and Starwood were in preliminary talks about a deal, with Bank of America Merrill Lynch advising IHG on the talks.
The Sunday Times cited senior City sources who said Starwood and IHG had talks earlier in the year regarding a potential deal. The discussions did not go any further due to regulatory problems, the sources added.
The article noted talk that Starwood is now conducting a formal sale process. Insiders cited by the newspaper said the French hotels operator Accor and Parsippany, New Jersey-based counterpart Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE:WYN) are interested in in buying Starwood.
Fairmont began a sale process this year with Deutsche Bank advising, the report said. The Qatar government holds a majority stake in Fairmont.
Insiders cited by the report said IHG would be competing against sovereign wealth funds from Asia if it decided to make offers for Movenpick and Fairmont.
IHG refused to comment, while Movenpick and Fairmont did not reply when asked for comment, the article said. Deutsche Bank refused to comment, according to the report.
InterContinental Hotel Group’s market capitalisation stood at GBP 6.37bn (EUR 9.06bn) at the close of trading in London on Friday, 31 July.
Sunday Times