CHICAGO—Hyatt Hotels Corp. has expressed interest in NH Hotel Group. The Spain-based company is currently weighing a tender offer from Thailand-based Minor International.
Mark Hoplamazian, Hyatt’s president/CEO, said, “Hyatt has a demonstrated track record of making strategic investments to extend the reach of our brands and create value for our stakeholders. In keeping with our growth strategy, we submitted a letter expressing our interest in pursuing a potential acquisition of NH Hotel Group.”
The CEO continued, “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. Consistent with our strategy of pivoting to an asset-lighter business model, we see significant value creation for shareholders through a separation of NH Hotel Group’s real-estate assets from its hotel management platform.”
Hyatt is seeking to conduct additional due diligence to “determine the optimal approach to a potential offer,” Hoplamazian said.
According to Reuters, Hyatt said in the letter of interest that it believed it would be in a position to launch a cash offer for 100% of NH Hotel Group at a superior value to Minor’s June offer. Minor is currently NH’s biggest shareholder.