Ashkenazy Acquisition and the Blackstone Group are among a number of firms considering buying the hospitality company Belmond Ltd., which owns the 21 Club in New York City and has a market cap of $1.8 billion.
KSL Capital Partners, Hyatt Hotels and Hilton Worldwide Holdings are also interested, Bloomberg reported.
Belmond said in August that it hired Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase to explore a sale, and its share price has risen by more than 60 percent since. Bids are due this month.
Apart from 21, Belmond owns luxury hotels and restaurants globally, such as the Belmond Hotel Cipriani in Venice and the Belmond Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro. [Bloomberg]—Konrad Putzier