Panel forces Osmond to retract claims of 6C shareholder support

Hugh Osmond, the entrepreneur stalking Six Continents, was forced to admit yesterday that he had no idea how much shareholder support his £5.6bn bid had attracted.

Ahead of next week's crucial Six Continents extraordinary general meeting, Mr Osmond had to distance himself from claims that his side had up to 20 per cent of his target's shareholders on board.

Separately, Six Continents said it had not received a specific bid proposal from Marriott International, following a press report that the hotel chain was about to make an offer.

An adviser to Mr Osmond's Capital Management & Investment bid vehicle was quoted in a newspaper yesterday saying up to a fifth of Six Continents shareholders was known to be ready to vote against a demerger of the company at the EGM – which requires a 75 per cent vote in favour. An adjournment of the meeting would allow CMI to push ahead with its offer.

The bidder said: "CMI accepts that its advisers did speak to the newspaper in question but confirms that no shareholder support for an adjournment can be verified by the standards required by the [Takeover] Panel." Mr Osmond was also forced, by the Panel, to retract criticisms of Six Continents' track record with bid approaches made in a conference call with journalists.

He said on the call that, despite meetings with "dozens" of institutional shareholders, he was not able to gauge the level of support for his proposal. "Institutions play their cards pretty close to their chest. I can't speculate which way they'd vote," he said.

Mr Osmond said that in his meeting with Six Continents' shareholders, he had not been pressed to sweeten his offer, tone down the controversial incentives for CMI management if it is successful, or to bring in a partner. He did say, however, that the terms of the offer, including the incentives "were not set in stone".

He also dismissed criticism from rival pub operator, Tim Martin, chairman of JD Wetherspoon, who said, "If he's [Mr Osmond] thinking of himself as a manager he's getting ideas above his station." Mr Osmond quipped: "The question I'd like to ask is about Tim Martin's haircut," in a reference to Mr Martin's famous "mullet".