InterContinental Hotels Group Sets the Record Straight on Rumors of Possible Sale

Holiday Inn owner InterContinental Hotels Group Plc stock plummeted today after the world’s largest hotel company said it does not plan to sell or merge the company, despite insistent reports and rumors to the contrary.

The company in July said it was not in talks to acquire Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. after the Financial Times reported that it was. In September, the Sunday Times said InterContinental was nearing a deal to buy Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. Bloomberg also reported the company was discussing with financial advisers whether to sell or combine with a competitor, citing unnamed insider sources.

But “the Board of Directors of IHG states that it is not considering a potential sale or merger of the company,” a press release said on Friday.