According to Frank Fiskers, the Danish CEO of Scandic Hotels, the Swedish company is primed for an IPO and is waiting for the word from its owner, the Swedish capital fund EQT, Børsen reports.
Fiskers explained that the past year had been spent preparing the company.
“We’ve put the processes and structures in place,” he said. “The company is ready to be listed, and we are waiting for when the owners decide to push the button.”
Not an inevitability
The hotel chain has been owned by EQT since 2007. According to Fiskers, an IPO isn’t an inevitability.
“I don’t think EQT has locked itself into a particular track,” he said.
“But now we’ve prepared for the thing that means the most work for us – namely a listing.”
Kerstin Danasten, the head of press at EQT, told Børsen the decision of whether to go after an IPO had not been taken.
“EQT assesses on an ongoing basis what should happen with Scandic Hotels,” she said. “I can’t say what will happen.”
The Scandic chain has 230 hotels in seven countries, employing 14,000 people.