NH Hoteles, Framon Merge Italian Ops
ITALY, March 27, 2006. NH Hoteles SA and Italian hotel chain Framon have signed an agreement to create a joint venture for their Italian operations.
This was cited by unnamed sector sources close to the operation and reported by AFX news wire and Expansion. In January, NH Hoteles said it was in talks to acquire Framon.
According to Expansion, the Spanish hotel chain will hold the majority stake in the joint venture and also will manage the new company.
It also plans to pay Framon 'a very small amount' for its hotel assets, which are not owned by the company but are rented or under management contract.
The joint venture will have 20 hotels already operating, with a further seven in the pipeline, the newspaper said, adding that NH Hoteles expects the new company to be the leading operator in the urban hotel sector in Italy within five years.
Separately, Saturday's Expansion carried an interview with NH Hoteles Managing Director for Investments and Strategy Ignacio Aranguren where he reiterated that the improved trend in the hotel business in all the group's key markets 'will be confirmed in first quarter results' due in May.
Over the last week, speculation has been rife that NH Hoteles has bid about a billion euros for De Vere Group PLC.
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