NH Rises to Highest Since December on KKR Securities Plan

NH Hoteles SA (NHH), Spain’s largest business hotel chain, rose to the highest in more than 10 months in Madrid trading after the company said its considering a proposal by KKR & Co. LP to issue new securities convertible into shares.

NH Hoteles gained as much as 4.2 percent to 2.87 euros, the highest intraday price since Dec. 12. The stock was up 2.3 percent at 2.82 euros as of 10:19 a.m.

“The board has decided to start to analyze the proposal without that meaning any agreement will be made,” NH Hoteles said today in a regulatory filing.

Expansion newspaper today reported that KKR was holding preliminary talks with NH to buy a 16 percent stake in the hotelier held by Banco Financiero & de Ahorros for 107 million euros ($138.4 million). Expansion also said that and that KKR has suggested that NH could carry out a capital increase as an alternative.

“Shareholders such as banks that are in financial difficulties are going to have to sell their stakes in traded companies and firms such as KKR see this an opportunity to buy cheaply,” said Luis Benguerel, a trader at Interbrokers in Barcelona.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sharon Smyth in Madrid at ssmyth2@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew Blackman at ablackman@bloomberg.net;