Activist investor Marcato pushes InterContinental Hotels to consider a merger with a rival Mr McGuire said that IHG had rebuffed his suggestions and "appears they have neither solicited offers nor performed the rigorous analyis necessary to evaluate potential options to achieve this goal." In response the board of IHG says that it met Marcato on 22 September and 29 October to review its analysis. "Following this review, the Board has concluded that it remains in the best interests of all its shareholders to continue to pursue its current strategy for high quality growth and delivering strong operational and financial performance," the hotel group said in a statement after the stock market closed. IHG reportedly spurned a $10bn (£6bn) approach from a US rival in May, believed to be Starwood Hotel, owner of the Sheraton and Westin brands, or Wyndham, which includes the Ramada and Days Inn chains. In a presentation to shareholders the activist says "This type of unsolicited approach is quite rare in the hospitality industry and generally would lead to a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives by the IHG board." The San Francisco based activist hedge fund hired bankers at Houlihan Lokey in August to conduct a strategic review of the company. Mick McGuire, Bill Ackman's protégé, set up $3bn fund Marcato and is now targeting FTSE 100 firm InterContinental Hotels The activist investor said that an all-stock combination with "another major hotel operator" could "deliver a premium upwards of 100pc over IHG's current share price, creating a divserified hotel management company." Marcato added that there would be substantial synergies and gorwth opportuniteis through the expanded scope and scale of the business. Marcato argued that IHG should pursue a deal as it was an "extremely favourable time in the hotel market cycle...and tailwinds in the global M&A market should contribute to the board's urgency." In addition, the activist investor flagged record-low interest rates and an increasing desire for geographic diversification. Who is Marcato? Activist investors are on track to launch a record number of campaigns this year. Companies such as First Group, the transport operator, and Bwin, the online gaming company, have come under attack in Britain. In August IHG's chief executive said in response to Marcato's stakebuilding: "We are a British public company with a lot of shareholders and it's sort of up to them, but our focus is on creating value for them. The total shareholder return we've given is up there with the best on a very consistent public strategy, which we will continue to pursue for the benefit of all our shareholders - not just one individual one. He added: "We're a public company with a very experienced board and chairman, and if there was an approach that was value creating for shareholders of course we would look at it."