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Colony and Eurazeo to raise stakes in Accor

US property company Colony Capital and investment group Eur-azeo said they plan to raise their stakes in Accor to a total of some 30 per cent, boosting shares in the French hotels and services group.

  • Reuters
  • Published: 00:11 May 6, 2008
  • Gulf News

Paris: US property company Colony Capital and investment group Eur-azeo said they plan to raise their stakes in Accor to a total of some 30 per cent, boosting shares in the French hotels and services group.

Colony said yesterday it would raise its stake in Accor, one of the world's top hotel operators with brands including Novotel and Ibis, to around 20 per cent, while Eurazeo would lift its stake to around 10 per cent and seek boardroom representation.

Some analysts said the move could increase pressure on Accor's management to make disposals to boost the group's share price. "This announcement leaves one to believe that Accor's management is under increasing pressure to extract value ... and this could lead to new sales of assets," CM-CIC Securities said in a research note.

CM-CIC Securities kept a "buy" rating on Accor shares and a price target of 68 euros.

Guarantee

Accor said it wanted a guarantee from Colony and Eurazeo they would not seek control of the company and would set up a shareholder stability pact.

Accor shares rose as much as four per cent to an intraday high of 56.30 euros before edging back to 56.10 euros.

That gave Accor a market value of around 12.8 billion euros ($19.3 billion). "Colony Capital and Eurazeo's increased stakes demonstrate their confidence in the management team and its strategy, the group's potential for value creation and the strength of its assets," the companies said in a statement.

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