Hyatt Expresses Interest in Spain’s NH Hotel Group

Hyatt Hotels Corp. has made public its interest in taking over Spain’s NH Hotel Group, positioning itself in a battle for the company with Thailand-based Minor International.

In a statement released on Hyatt’s website yesterday, President and CEO Mark Hoplamazian said the move is in keeping with the Chicago hotel company’s growth strategy.

“Hyatt has a demonstrated track record of making strategic investments to extend the reach of our brands and create value for our stakeholders,” said Hoplamazian, who revealed that Hyatt had submitted a letter expressing its interest in pursuing a potential acquisition of NH Hotel Group.

“We believe that marrying NH Hotel Group’s strong footprint in Europe and select other markets with Hyatt’s global presence would yield a powerful portfolio of brands and network of hotels delivering compelling benefits for guests, owners, and shareholders of both companies,” Hoplamazian added.

According to Reuters, Hyatt may be in a position to launch a cash offer to acquire 100 percent of the company.

Hyatt, however, is not the only company seriously eyeing a takeover of the Spanish hotel group.

Thailand’s Minor International, already NH’s biggest shareholder, made an offer in June. That deal valued the portion of the Spanish hotel group not already owned by Minor at 1.64 billion euros. Its acceptance is conditional upon approval from shareholders at an annual meeting slated for August 9.

NH Hotel Group includes more than 370 hotels in 30 countries. In January, the hotel group rejected a takeover offer from Spanish peer Barcelo, which valued the company at 2.48 billion euros.

As for Hyatt, Hoplamazian indicated in his letter of interest that his company’s offer is a better value for shareholders than what Minor brought to the table.

“We believe that the recently announced tender offer process for NH shares understates the intrinsic and economic value of the company,” said Hoplamazian, in the signed letter released to the Spanish stock exchange regulator.

Hyatt said its next step is to conduct additional due diligence and determine the optimal approach to a potential offer.

According to Reuters, Hyatt has requested access to NH’s books in order to make a firm decision on the takeover. Additional, the company said it would require final approval from its board of directors in order to proceed with any offer.

Hyatt is expected to announce its decision in August or September.

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