14th Nov 2005 07:05
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC14 November 2005 14 November 2005 INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS GROUP ANNOUNCES DISPOSAL OF UP TO 100% OF ITS INTEREST IN BRITVIC BY WAY OF INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING InterContinental Hotels Group PLC ('IHG' or the 'Company') today announces thatit intends to dispose of part or all of its 47.5% interest in Britvic(1) ('Britvic') by way of an initial public offering (the 'Disposal' or 'IPO') of the Britvic shares. IHG has been pursuing a strategy of focusing on managing and franchising hotels.In line with this strategy, in March 2004, IHG announced that it had reached anagreement in principle with the other Britvic shareholders (Pernod Ricard (thenAllied Domecq), Whitbread and PepsiCo) to consider the disposal of theirrespective interests in Britvic by way of an IPO at any point between January2005 and December 2008. IHG and the other Britvic shareholders have concludedthat it is now appropriate to proceed with the IPO. Due to the size of the IPO relative to IHG, the Disposal is conditional, interalia, upon Shareholders' approval being obtained at an Extraordinary GeneralMeeting. A formal notice of the meeting and the resolution to be proposed willbe sent to shareholders shortly, together with a circular setting out furtherdetails of the disposal of Britvic. A separate letter (the 'ShareholderLetter'), expected to be posted on 25 November 2005, simultaneous with thepublication of the Britvic price range prospectus, will detail the IPO pricerange and the number of Britvic shares to be sold by Britvic shareholders in theIPO, together with certain additional information. The Shareholder Letter, forregulatory reasons, will not be sent into the United States. The Extraordinary General Meeting will be held at Lawrence Hall, The RoyalHorticultural Society Halls, Greycoat Street, London SW1P 2QD at 10.30 am on 7December 2005. For further information, please contact: Investor Relations (Gavin Flynn/Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson): +44 (0) 1753 410 176 +44 (0) 7808 098 972Media Affairs (Leslie McGibbon): +44 (0) 1753 410 425 +44 (0) 7808 094 471 These materials are not an offer for sale of securities. The securitiesreferred to herein will not be or have not been registered under the USSecurities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the UnitedStates absent registration or an applicable exemption from registrationrequirements of such Act. Note to Editors: InterContinental Hotels Group PLC of the United Kingdom (LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG(ADRs)) is the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms. InterContinentalHotels Group owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various subsidiaries,more than 3,500 hotels and over 537,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries andterritories around the world. The Group owns a portfolio of well recognised andrespected hotel brands including InterContinental(R) Hotels & Resorts, CrownePlaza(R) Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn(R) Hotels and Resorts, Holiday InnExpress(R), Staybridge Suites(R), Candlewood Suites(R) and Hotel IndigoTM, andalso manages the world's largest hotel loyalty programme, Priority Club(R)Rewards, with over 26 million members worldwide. In addition to this,InterContinental Hotels Group has a 47.5% interest in Britvic, one of the twoleading manufacturers of soft drinks, by value and volume, in Great Britain. InterContinental Hotels Group offers information and online reservations for allits hotel brands at www.ichotelsgroup.com and information for the Priority ClubRewards programme at www.priorityclub.com. For the latest news from InterContinental Hotels Group, visit our online PressOffice at www.ihgplc.com/media. -------------------------- (1) The current holding company of the Britvic Soft Drinks group is BritanniaSoft Drinks Limited. Britannia SD Holdings Limited (to be renamed Britvic plc)will become the holding company of Britannia Soft Drinks Limited prior to theIPO. It will be the shares of Britvic plc that will be offered in the IPO. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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