Orient-Express tipped as hotel sector’s next buyout target

Orient-Express Hotels, the company that owns the eponymous train and some of the world’s most luxurious hotels, is being tipped as the next bid target in a sector attracting private equity interest. Financial predators, including an unnamed US hedge fund and Starwood Capital, which has a 4% stake, are understood to have run a slide rule over the New York-listed group in recent months. Blackstone and Morgan Stanley are also thought to have looked at the business. This week Blackstone has offered £13bn for Hilton Hotels.The Times Business 07/07/07 55