本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛Saudi prince and U.S. property firm to acquire Fairmont Hotels for US$3.9B
GARY NORRIS
TORONTO (CP) - Another Canadian corporate monument is toppling into foreign hands with a deal for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc. (TSX:FHR - news) to be bought by a Saudi prince and a U.S. property magnate.
Fairmont, which originated in the historic Canadian Pacific Railway luxury hotel chain and counts the Chateau Laurier, Royal York and Banff Springs among its properties, said Monday its board is supporting an offer of $3.3 billion US in cash, about $3.8 billion Cdn, from Kingdom Hotels International and Colony Capital.
Including assumed debt, the deal is valued at $3.9 billion US or $4.5 billion Cdn.
Kingdom Hotels is owned by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a global investor listed by Forbes magazine as the world's fifth-richest person with a net worth of $23.7 billion US.
Colony Capital is a Los Angeles private equity firm run by Tom Barrack, recently described by Fortune magazine as the world's best real estate investor.
The Fairmont announcement came five days after Hudson's Bay Co. (TSX:HBC - news), Canada's oldest corporation, agreed to be taken over by American businessman Jerry Zucker.
Fairmont, which earlier rejected a partial takeover bid by U.S. billionaire Carl Icahn, said Kingdom and Colony will pay $45 US a share, or about $51.50 Cdn at Monday morning's exchange rate.
Fairmont shares rose 25 cents to $50.69 Cdn on the Toronto Stock Exchange and 44 cents to $44.26 US in New York after Monday morning's news.
The offer price is a slight premium to Fairmont's price of $43.82 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. It's a 28 per cent premium over the price Nov. 4 when Icahn made his move, assembling a 10 per cent stake in Fairmont and bidding $40 US per share for 51 per cent of the company.
Fairmont's board is unanimously endorsing the Kingdom-Colony offer.
"This transaction is the ideal means of delivering significant, immediate value to the company's current shareholders while preserving this Canadian-based company and establishing a solid platform from which to grow," stated chairman Peter Godsoe.
Kingdom and Colony plan to combine Fairmont with the Asian-based Raffles chain owned by Colony to create a "luxury global hotel leader" with 120 properties in 24 countries.
Fairmont would continue to be based in Canada, and Raffles would also remain a separate brand.
The Toronto-based chain owns and operates 87 hotels with about 34,000 guest rooms in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Bermuda, Barbados, Britain, Monaco, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates.
Fairmont also owns Delta Hotels, which manages and franchises 38 properties.
A higher bid from Icahn or anyone else is unlikely, National Bank Financial said in a research note, commenting that the price is at the high end of Fairmont's valuation range.
"This scenario is exactly what Carl Icahn was looking for," analysts Michael Smith and Jimmy Shan added.
"Our view is that Icahn just wants the company sold so he can exit his position thereby making a quick buck - most of his FHR holdings were accumulated at an average of US$32 between August and November of 2005."
The transaction requires approval by two-thirds of the votes at a shareholder meeting scheduled for April, and the purchase is expected to close during the second quarter.
The acquisition of Fairmont leaves only Canadian Pacific Railway (TSX:CP - news) as an independent corporation among the five components of the former Canadian Pacific Ltd. conglomerate broken up in the autumn of 2001.
PanCanadian Petroleum merged with Alberta Energy Corp. to become EnCana Corp. Fording Inc. now is the Fording Canadian Coal Trust. And CP Ships was recently taken over by Germany's Hapag-Lloyd group.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net