5 Reasons Why InterContinental Hotels Group Is Ripe for an Acquisition

When news leaked over the weekend that China’s Anbang Insurance Group (yes, the same Anbang that attempted to buy Starwood for close to $14 billion earlier this year) was considering a $9.12 billion purchase of London-based InterContinental Hotels Group, it immediately reignited discussion about further consolidation in the hospitality industry. IHG declined to comment on the rumors and Anbang Insurance Group issued a statement denying the reports: “Anbang has no plans to make a bid and is not considering an offer for InterContinental.” Regardless of whether Anbang is eyeing IHG, however, there’s a case to be made for why IHG would be a solid investment. The company has been at the center of merger and acquisition conversations for some time now. Here’s a look at a few of the reasons why IHG would make a favorable acquisition for the likes of an investor like Anbang Insurance Group or another hotel company, as well as why IHG might also be in a good position to acquire another one of its peers: 1. IHG is one of the biggest hotel operators in the world. If you look at the numbers, IHG is the third largest hotel operator in the world, with 744,368 rooms worldwide, or 739,137 rooms, excluding timeshares, as of December 31, 2015. Its two biggest competitors are Hilton Worldwide, with 758,502 rooms worldwide (748,887 when you omit its timeshare business), and Marriott International, which has 759,330 rooms (although that number drops to 742,265 when you leave out its residences and timeshares). Should the Marriott-Starwood merger be completed, barring any interference from antitrust regulators in China, the combined company would have more than 1.1 million rooms, making it the largest hotel company in the world. 2. InterContinental owns the wor