competition for meridien HOTS UP

FORTE, which is reported to have bid at least Ffr1.6b (£190m) for the luxury Méridien hotel chain, looks likely to face a stiff challenge from several other international hotel groups.

French rival Accor, which has long wanted to merge Méridien with its own Sofitel chain, is reported to have bid about Ffr1.4b, while Marriott, Hilton Hotels USA and Inter-Continental are all said to be interested.

But after seeing its bid for Italian group Ciga Hotels trumped at the eleventh hour by ITT Sheraton in February, Forte is trying to play down its chances with Méridien.

Richard Power, Forte's director of communications, would only confirm Méridien was "a company that would be of interest to us, but probably to many other hotel groups also".

Méridien is controlled by Air France which is trying to sell its 57% stake to bolster its precarious finances. A source at the airline said it expected to make about Ffr800m (£95m) from selling the stake.

Another source said that in the event of Air France taking its stake below 50% it would be obliged to offer to buy out other shareholders.

Only 10 of Méridien's 58 properties are owned, including Le Méridien London on Piccadilly (right).