Barceló bids for rival NH Hotel Group

Spanish firm Barceló has emerged as a potential buyer for its long-time rival the Madrid-based NH Hotel Group for $3 billion.

If approved, the combined portfolio would be 478 properties featuring roughly 89,000 rooms. NH Hotel operates close to 400 hotels, most of which are located in Latin America and Europe.

Experts say that an offer for NH Hotels makes sense, as the company has been going through a tumultuous period marked by regular in-fighting among its shareholders in recent years. In 2013, Chinese conglomerate HNA group bought a share of the company, but so far its involvement has been largely resisted.

Over the past year, the NH chief executive and several of its board members who were close to HNA were ultimately ousted as part of the Chinese company making a bid for Carlson Hotels, which was then viewed as a potential conflict of interest given that Carlson holds a stake in the Rezidor Hotel Group.

Spain has recorded a record 36 million foreign