A bid battle could be in prospect for luxury travel group Orient-Express Hotels.
The company, which owns 49 hotels, six tourist trains and two river and canal cruise businesses, last week received an unsolicited bid from Indian Hotels, part of the Tata empire. The cash offer values Bermuda-headquartered Orient-Express - owner of New York's 21 Club and Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana Palace - at $12.63 a share, or $1.86bn in total.
The Orient-Express board said it would consider the offer, and its founder James Sherwood was said to be in favour of the bid. Indian Hotels already owns 6.95% of its target.
But traders believe a rival offer could be on the cards. Billionaire property tycoon brothers David and Simon Reuben own 6.22% of Orient-Express, and are said to be considering stepping in with a counter bid worth around $16 a share. There were also suggestions the brothers could team up with investment management group Cohen & Steers, the largest shareholder in Orient-Express with 13.2% stake.
