Hammons Hotels committee declines $64 mil bid

“With the assistance of our financial and legal advisors, we have concluded that $13 per share is an unacceptable price,” said David Sullivan, committee chairman, in a statement. “We also believe that there are a number of deficiencies in the agreement Barceló has proposed entering into with Mr. Hammons.”

Company founder and CEO John Q. Hammons and other insiders own 77

percent of JQH stock.

The remainder is held by institutional investors.

Hammons previously said he was in favor of Barceló Crestline’s bid and its appeal to the private sector. “I hope that it goes through,” he said in an October interview. “I’ve always liked to be private.”

Hammons Hotels Vice President Scott Tarwater said the rejected offer does not rule out the possibility of a future deal with Barceló.

“Barceló certainly has the opportunity to come back with any offer that they feel would be valid, and our special committee of the board of directors would then consider that offer,” Tarwater said. “We are waiting for a response from Barceló as we speak.”

A week after the proposal, a Hammons Hotels stockholder in Delaware filed a complaint against the company and its board of directors, saying the offer was inadequate. At the time of the offer, Hammons Hotels stock traded at $11.31. Company officials called the lawsuit premature.

Since then, Hammons Hotels stock as risen to $15 a share – a 52-week high – and shares outstanding now exceed 5 million.

Barceló senior vice president James Carroll said his company is not discouraged by the proposal rejection.

“We plan on continuing our negotiations with the special committee and their advisors, and we remain very optimistic that we’ll have a deal with the company that we hope to bring to a conclusion early in the year,” he said.

The committee also announced that a second company has come forward with an offer to acquire Hammons Hotels. The new offer would not require shareholders to sell their shares unless they choose to do so, but the deal would change control of the company. Officials would not disclose the name of the company until it becomes official.

Carroll said Barceló Crestline is not concerned by alternative offers.

“We continue to believe that the proposal that we’re offering is absolutely the best possible scenario for the shareholders of the company and the employees of the company. And we believe with continued negotiation we’ll be able to reach a deal that’s acceptable to everybody,” he said.

Hammons Hotels (AMEX: JQH) owns or manages 60 hotels in 20 states, including five properties in Springfield, one in Branson and one in Joplin.

Barceló Crestline Corp., according to its Web site, leases or subleases 90 hotels and controls another 30 hotels through its subsidiary Crestline Hotels & Resorts Inc. Through a Spanish subsidiary, Barceló Corporación Empresarial, the company owns an additional 81 hotels in Europe, Latin America and the United States.

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