NH Hotels Turns Down Barceló Merger Offer But Is Open to Others

The NH Hotel Group board has turned down an offer from rival Barceló, which would have seen the two companies merge.

Barceló made the unsolicited offer, which valued NH hotels at around $3 billion, in November. The combined Spain-based group would have had a portfolio of 478 properties and 89,000 rooms.

NH Hotels board said the proposal did not create “shareholder value over and above that which NH stands to create on a standalone basis”. However, in a statement on its website, NH Hotels appeared to leave itself open to other offers in the future.

In November, NH Hotels reached an agreement to sell and leaseback its Barbizon Hotel in Amsterdam, valuing the property at $186 million (€155.5 million).

NH Hotels said “the value of its hotel assets” would “pave the way for opportunities to expand and the chance to participate in prevailing hotel sector consolidation in the future.”

One factor that could complicate any takeover or merger is Chinese conglomerate HNA Group's 30 percent ownership. Last year, Bloomberg suggested that HNA might be willing to sell in order to raise much-needed cash.