No doubt most Wall Street analysts and Hilton shareholders are likely happy about this news. We do, however, have to wonder how Carlson Hotels, which is 100 percent owned by HNA, is taking this recent news.
Chinese regulators are getting tough with cash-strapped HNA's Hainan Airlines, but not too tough because they don't want customers causing disturbances at the nation's airports when flights get cancelled.
NH Hotels has been on a corporate rollercoaster ride over the past couple of years with HNA Group’s minority shareholding being the principle catalyst. Things have quieted down recently but harmony likely depends on the identity of the new investor.
Combining NH Hotels with another company makes plenty of sense. It would give it added scale and might also help put an end to its shareholder infighting. Of course this is only the opening move in what is likely to be a time-consuming process and given NH's recent history we're sure that it will be anything but straightforward.
Signs of HNA’s influence are pretty apparent here. Now that it owns all of Carlson Hotels, will it attempt to buy the rest of the remaining shares of Rezidor that it doesn’t own?
Marriott's decision to buy Starwood does seem to make consolidation among the rest of the chasing pack seem very likely. The problem is nobody wants to get burned by doing a deal at the very top of the market.
HNA's influence on Carlson Hotels is already taking hold. What will be even more interesting going forward is how HNA leverages its numerous hospitality investments, including Carlson, NH Hotels, Red Lion Hotels and soon, Hilton Worldwide and, possibly Rezidor.