The hedge fund, owner of about 4 percent of InterContinental shares, hired investment bank Houlihan Lokey in August to help it conduct a strategic review of Europe’s second- largest publicly traded hotel operator. A combination would enhance InterContinental’s value by increasing opportunities for growth and generating “substantial business and financial synergies,” Marcato said today in a letter to investors.
InterContinental “will not be able to provide shareholder value comparable to what could be achieved through a combination with another major hotel operator,” Marcato said.
Richard Solomons, the hotel company’s chief executive officer, said in a June interview that InterContinental can grow without a merger or takeover and it has served investors well. The Denham, England-based hotel company is seeking to expand in the mid-priced category in the U.S. as well as in places such as China, Russia and India, and to increase awareness of the InterContinental name, Solomons said.