Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Barring the Door at the Four Seasons

The hotel chain's CEO wants to take the company private, with help from Bill Gates and a Saudi prince. And he's unwilling to consider competing offers.

It was an unusual statement by any chief executive, let alone one who is trying to persuade shareholders to accept his bid to buy full control of the company. Yet on Nov. 6, Isadore Sharp, chairman and chief executive of the Four Seasons (FS) hotel chain, told investors and analysts that he was not willing to consider any offer for the company other than the one he had helped put on the table. "This proposal achieves all my objectives for Four Seasons and my family, and is the only one that I am prepared to pursue," he said.


His bid has already benefited shareholders. After the hotel and resort chain publicly announced Sharp's offer, shares in Four Seasons soared 29%, to $82.50. Sharp and his family holding company, Triples Holdings, are making the bid with Kingdom Hotels International, a company backed by the Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and Cascade Investment, an investment firm owned by Microsoft (MSFT) founder Bill Gates. The price offered for Four Seasons' stock is $82 in cash per share.

source

Tags: Barring | statement | hotel | executive | CHAIN | Seasons

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