M&C Hotels to go private at second attempt

MILLENNIUM & Copthorne Hotels is set to be taken private by the Singaporean company that controls it in a £2.2bn deal.

The 685p a share offer is the second time that City Developments – part of the Hong Leong Group owned by M&C chairman and billionaire Kwek Leng Beng – has tried to take the hotel operator private.

The company, which already owns about two thirds of M&C shares, made an initial £1.8bn offer in October 2017.

That was increased to £2bn, or 620p a share, but some investors refused to sell up arguing that the bid undervalued M&C.

The latest offer was 37pc above the closing price of 466p on May 23, when City Developments made its new proposal. Shares soared after the offer was announced less than an hour before trading ended, closing up 35pc at 675p.

Sherman Kwek, City Developments chief executive, said taking M&C private was in line with his company’s focus on boosting recurring income and enhancing underperforming assets.

“The offer enables shareholders to exit an illiquid stock at a significant premium,” he said. “We believe that a privatised M&C will be in the best position to navigate the increasingly challenging and competitive global hospitality landscape with agility and nimbleness.”

M&C’S independent directors said the offer gave independent shareholders the ability to “realise their investments in cash at a valuation which has not been seen since 2007”.

The hotel operator owns, leases, manages and franchises 140 sites in 26 countries, with properties including the Chelsea Harbour Hotel in London and the Millennium Hotel Paris Opéra.

City Developments is listed in Singapore and has residences, offices, hotels, serviced apartments, integrated developments and shopping malls in 103 locations across 29 countries.