THE hostile bidding war brewing around Six Continents heated up yesterday with the pubs-to-hotels group firmly rejecting a £5.5bn bid from entrepreneur Hugh Osmond.
Mr Osmond tabled an offer through Capital Management & Investment (CMI), which valued the leisure group at 648p per share.
His plans would mean Six Continents being broken up with the hotels business sold to rival hoteliers or run in partnerships.
Six Continents, owners of Inter-Continental Hotels, Holiday Inn hotels and All Bar One pubs, has always rebuffed the suggestion of Mr Osmond making an approach for its business as "fundamentally flawed".
Six Continents said: "CMI's proposal gives shareholders nothing they do not already own except significant risk."
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