SPAIN - Mercapital and La Caixa try to sell Occidental again

In 2005, Goldman failed to sell hotel chain Occidental to Carlyle. The private equity group had signed a pre-agreement to buy the company for around EUR 1bn. The firm then revaluated the deal due to the negative effects in the industry caused by the hurricanes Emily and Wilma and offered less than EUR 900m to Mercapital and La Caixa. The sellers rejected the offer and discontinued dealings with Carlyle.

Last year, Lehman Brothers offered Occidental to sector players Barceló, Sol Meliá and NH Hoteles. All the three groups have been offered the deal opportunity again by Goldman Sachs. The two latter chains have reporetdly said the price is too high while Barceló seems to have demonstrated interest, however, it did not make a formal offer. The sale of Occidental is taking much longer than expected: the company has been offered to several players and none of them has agreed to pay the price Mercapital and La Caixa, shareholders of the chain for eight years, are asking for.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Exits
• Southern Europe