http://thetim.es/1Nq3mm8
Saudi prince hopes to stay at Holiday Inn
THE new owner of the luxury Fairmont and Raffles hotel chains could soon be back on the hunt for big acquisitions, making the FTSE 100 giant InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) a prime target.
The French owner of Ibis and Sofitel, Accor, bought the Canada-based Fairmont for $3bn (£2bn) last week, the latest in a wave of big-money deals in the industry. Kingdom Holding — the investment fund run by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia — will become one of Accor’s largest shareholders in return for its stake in Fairmont.
The Saudi fund indicated this weekend that it will push for more deals.“Combined, Accor stands stronger and larger and will clearly sit in the predator camp in the prey/predator play,” said Sarmad Zok, chief executive of Kingdom’s hotel arm.
That could IHG vulbnerable to a takeover