Shares in Europe's largest hotel group, Accor, have risen to their highest level since December of 2015 in the wake of claims that the business is in takeover talks.
As reported by The Independent, the value of shares increased by as much as 5% when The Estates Gazette declared that the French company has entered into exclusive talks to sell an 80% stake in its €6.6 billion HotelInvest real-estate business within the next two months to a consortium consisting of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte, French asset manager Amundi and US real estate investment trust Colony NorthStar.
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Carmen Lee stated in January that the capital raised from a property sale could aid in the funding of new projects to boost the company's operations and expand its networks. She also added that HotelInvest is responsible for close to 70% of Accor's earning before interest, tax and depreciation and amortization and that it has generated upwards of €637 million every year since 2014.
Spokespeople for Accor, Amundi, GIC and Colony NorthStar have yet to comment on the claims.
