IHG shares surge on takeover bid reports

27th May 2014 08:35

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) shares surged on Tuesday morning after weekend press reports about a potential takeover bid for the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza owner.Sky News reported on Saturday that IHG has rejected a "secret" bid that valued it at £6bn.IHG's board was said to have met a few weeks ago to discuss the offer but turned it down on the grounds that it was too low. While the identity of the bidder has not been confirmed, analysts suggested that the proposal may have come from US group Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, which owns the Le Meridien, St Regis and Westin brands, or a specialist investment fund such as Starwood Capital.Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has a market capitalisation of around $15.1bn (£9.0bn), while IHG was valued at around £6.0bn on Tuesday morning after a near-6% jump in the share price.Sky cited its sources as saying that IHG is "braced for a bidder or a rival to return", though insiders also suggested that the recent approach could simply fade away and not be revived.IHG was trading 5.6% higher at 2.351p by 09:18.BC