Marcato Capital Encourages Intercontinental Hotels To Explore Combination

(RTTNews) - San Francisco-based investment manager Marcato Capital Management LP, owning securities representing nearly 3.8 percent of Intercontinental Hotels Group plc's (IHG.L, IHG) outstanding shares, responded to the speculations regarding a recent, unsolicited offer for Intercontinental Hotels, that was rejected by the company.

Regardless of the veracity of these reports, the firm believes that a combination with a larger hotel operator would have compelling strategic and financial merit, representing a unique opportunity to reshape the hospitality industry worldwide. Therefore, Marcato strongly encourages Intercontinental Hotels Group's board to explore such a combination and to conduct a formal process for the evaluation of full range of opportunities.