Minor International, the parent firm of Thai hotel company Minor Hotels, has proposed to delist another of its fully owned hotel operating companies, NH Hotel Group.
NH Hotel Group — which has 357 hotels in 38 countries — officially became Minor Hotels Europe & Americas in April, and it trades on the Madrid Stock Exchange under the acronym NHH. Bangkok-based Minor International acquired NH in late 2018 for €2.3 billion ($2.4 billion), and its Singapore-based subsidiary MHG Continental Holding holds a 95.9% interest in Minor Hotels Europe & Americas.
“MHG’s delisting offer proposal is priced at €6.37 per share, which is supported by an independent valuation,” according to a Minor International news release.
Minor Hotels Europe & Americas shareholders are set to vote on the proposal on or around Jan. 20.
“The proposal aims to provide MHEA minority shareholders an attractive exit opportunity while offering enhanced asset and capital management flexibility to [Minor International]. As such, this move is designed to benefit both Minor International’s and MHEA’s shareholders,” according to the news release.
If shareholders agree to the proposal to delist Minor Hotels Europe & Americas at the January meeting, the proposal will be sent to the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores — Spain's securities regulator — for final review. Minor executives project the tender offer and delisting will be completed within the first quarter of 2025.
In November, Minor’s chairman Bill Heinecke said the company intends to float a real estate investment trust next year that “would halve its liabilities, which stood at 255 billion Thai baht ($7.45 billion) as of the end of September.”
Minor Hotels includes brands such as Anantara Hotel & Resorts, Tivoli Hotels & Resorts, Avani Hotels & Resorts and Nhow Hotels & Resorts. Across all its brands, Minor has more than 550 hotels and 81,400 rooms.
Before its 2018 acquisition by Minor International, NH Hotels experienced several ownership changes.
A decade ago, Spanish real estate investment trusts including Hesperia held majority ownership of NH. Then that majority stake transferred to Chinese group HNA, which later had to reduce its ownership to 30% to abide with European Union rules in its pursuit to own Carlson Rezidor. HNA then declared bankruptcy in 2021.
Another Chinese group, Jin Jiang, acquired Carlson Rezidor, which by that time had changed its name to Radisson Hotel Group.
Former NH Hotel Group CEO Federico González Tejera is executive vice chairman at Radisson and Group CEO at Louvre Hotels Group.
Shares in Minor Hotels Europe & Americas on the Madrid Stock Exchange rose by 35% on Monday.