Soros backs Ciga deal

FORTE appears to have retaken the lead in the battle for Ciga, the luxury Italian-based hotel group, after joining forces with international financier George Soros to launch a new Lire700b (£275m) bid.

The company's original offer last Autumn involved splitting Ciga into two parts, with Forte injecting £33m and four of its own hotels into a new operating arm which would then be controlled and managed by Forte.

Under this agreement, it would have been seven years before Forte bought out Ciga's property division and the rest of the group's operating arm, whereas a subsequent offer from Marriott would have given the banks a higher immediate return.

Under the latest proposal, however, Mr Soros's Quantum fund would effectively buy out the banks' share of the previous deal at the outset, with Forte's contribution being little changed from its original offer.

If the deal does go through, Forte is likely to keep about 25 of Ciga's 36 hotels, including the Hotel Danieli in Venice, Rome's Grand hotel and the Hotel Alfonso XIII in Seville. About half of Ciga's hotels are freehold properties, with the rest a mix of leases and management contracts.

Marriott, meanwhile, which has offered Lire840b (£330m), is reported to be less than pleased at having been denied access to financial details on the hotels so it can conduct due diligence. It is understood Forte insisted on having exclusive access to that information. "Due diligence is not a cheap exercise," a Forte source commented.

However, a spokesman for Marriott's property company, Host Marriott, confirmed this week that the group's offer was still on the table, despite its anger at the situation.

lForte this week signed a contract to operate a 222-bedroom Forte Grand hotel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.