SPAIN - All eyes on Mercapital's Occidental Hoteles

Press reports suggest that Mercapital is in advanced negotiations to finally sell its 29.5% shareholding in Occidental Hoteles. The chains Barceló, Sol Meliá and NH Hoteles have already submitted offers and the deal is likely to be completed before the end of the year. Initially, the prospective buyers would buy only Mercapital's stake, but their ultimate goal is to also absorb the remaining 70.5% stake, split between bank La Caixa (30.5%), the management (25%) and the families Lladró, Lara and García Vaquero, which jointly control 15% of the company. Occidental Hoteles belongs to Mercapital's portfolio since 1997. Last year, The Carlyle Group signed a three-month exclusivity agreement to carry out the necessary due diligence for the acquisition of the hotel chain and was planning to purchase 80% of it, offering a reported EUR 900m for the stake. However, the damage caused which hurricane Wilma caused to six Occidental hotels in the Carribean, caused Carlyle to withdraw from its offer.