Hyatt backtracks on ‘impractical' NH Hotel Group acquisition

Hyatt Hotels has backtracked on an interest it had shown to acquire NH Hotel Group after Minor International revealed it is set to own 44% of the hotel group.

The US hotel company said that it intended to pursue a potential acquisition of the Spanish NH Hotel Group on 26 July, competing with Minor's own offer for the 370-strong hotel group, which Hyatt said "does not reflect the full value of NH".

However, following Minor's disclosure on 27 July, Hyatt said pursuing a tender offer would be "impractical" and "extremely challenging". Dillip Rajakarier, chief operating officer of the Thai group Minor International, said in an interview with Bloomberg that the Hyatt offer had come too late. Although in an official statement, the group said: "The letter from Hyatt was non-binding and Minor Hotels has no comment about it."

Mark Hoplamazian, president and chief executive of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation, said: "On 26 July Hyatt delivered a letter to the board of directors of NH Hotel Group in which we expressed our interest in pursuing a potential acquisition of NH Hotel Group with a separation of their real estate assets from their hotel management platform. Thereafter, Hyatt submitted a letter to the NH Hotel Group's board of directors, responding to questions the board asked about our letter of interest.

"After reviewing the disclosures that were made by NH Hotel Group's largest shareholder shortly after the submission of our letter of interest, we believe that the path to a successful tender offer by Hyatt has now narrowed to a point of being impractical. Absent a significant change in facts or circumstances, Hyatt has determined that pursuing a tender offer is not viable at this time.

"We have communicated to NH Hotel Group's board that we remain willing to engage in a dialogue with them to discuss other potential avenues toward unlocking value for NH Hotel Group's shareholders. We believe that a higher value could be realised by NH Hotel Group's shareholders if there were an agreed commitment and path to restructure NH Hotel Group's assets, while leveraging Hyatt's considerable brand strength and global presence."

NH Hotels' portfolio includes one UK property, the NH London Kensington (pictured). The group also plans to launch its Nhow brand in London, with an eight-storey, 190-bedroom hotel, set to open in Shoreditch in 2019. The hotel group rejected an "inadequate" merger proposal by Barceló Group earlier this year.

Minor Hotels owns a majority shareholding in Corbin & King, which operates sites including the Wolseley, the Delaunay and Brasserie Zédel, as well as the Beaumont hotel. The company operates more than 150 sites globally.

Minor acquires additional stake in NH Hotel Group >>

NH Hotel Group rejects Barceló merger >>

Corbin & King investor sees ‘huge opportunities' ahead of Café Wolseley opening >>

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