The two biggest shareholders in PPHE Hotel Group Ltd. confirmed on Friday that they plan to hold "a small handful" of meetings with financial investors about a range of potential options which include contributing growth capital and a potential "partial monetisation" of their stakes.
In a brief statement in response to press speculation, Eli Papouchado and Boris Ivesha - who collectively own around 44% of the voting rights of PPHE - said they are not in talks with any parties, and are not in receipt of any offer for their collective stake in PPHE.
There can be no certainty that any such offer will be made, they added.
The announcement came after Bloomberg reported that founder Papouchado and PPHE President Ivesha were working with advisers and have approached some buyout firms about the possibility of taking the company back into private ownership.
In their statement on Friday, the shareholders said PPHE is now considered to be in an offer period and a further announcement will be made when appropriate.
At 0807 GMT, the shares were up 9.5% at 1,642p.