Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is considering mounting a counter-bid for Six Continents if Hugh Osmond makes a hostile offer for the pubs and hotels group.
Senior KKR partners are thought to have approached Six Continents’ chairman Sir Ian Prosser with a tentative proposal that it could act as a white knight should the group face a hostile bid.
It is thought to have approached Blackstone about partnering it in such a deal.
Six Continents is expected to launch a defence plan, which will include a securitisation of its pubs division to realise the value for shareholders.
However, this plan is likely to be undermined by the group’s admission yesterday that it had incorrectly stated that its shares had outperformed the FTSE 100 index over the last 10 years.
References: Financial Times 22/02/03 page 5, Daily Telegraph 22/02/03 page 27, The Times Business 22/02/03 page 54, The Guardian 22/02/03 page 24, The Independent 22/02/03 page 25
