American group circles Jury Doyle hotel chain for potential takeover
Blackstone, one of the world's largest private investment companies, is reportedly interested in bidding for Jurys.
Mergermarket.com, an online financial news agency, says Blackstone and "at least one US hotel and one or more stateside private equity firms were taking an interest in developments at Jurys."
Shares in the hotel group rose by over 5% on the Irish stock exchange last week despite the rejection of the offer by Precinct Investments, the investment vehicle that last year took control of the Gresham Hotel group. In a brief statement last week Jurys said the €15.25 offer by Precient "fails to reflect the value of Jurys Doyle and its prospects." The fact that the Jurys share price rose indicates the market is expecting Precinct to come back with a higher offer or for other parties to enter the race.
Precinct is owned by builder Bryan Cullen, property developer JJ Murphy and solicitor Dave Coleman. It approached the Jurys board earlier this month, the only approach the company has received so far.
New York-based Blackstone has invested some $22 billion (€17.5bn) across the world and its real estate arm has raised $6 billion for investment in America and Europe.
A takeover of Jurys Doyle by the firm, if it were to emerge, would likely be in conjunction with a local investor or property developer.
Bidders for Jurys would be keen to free up the value of its seven-acre site in Ballsbridge in Dublin. The land, currently home to three hotels in need of upgrade, is believed to be valued at close to €200 million.
Developers or a new owner would ideally like to transform the hotels into luxury houses or apartments, while keeping Jurys other properties as hotels.
The company itself is reviewing its sites in the area, which also includes the four-star Burlington Hotel. The properties have traded poorly this year because of the over-supply of rooms in the Dublin market. Jurys are keen to keep the hotels open, but are seeking productivity gains from employees.
The overall Jurys group is valued at €980 million, but to get the support of the Doyle and Beatty families, who own 32% of its shares, any bidder would have to bid in excess of €16 to have any chance of landing the company.
