Shares of French hotel giant Accor and British Intercontinental Hotels are rising after the newspaper Le Figaro reported that the companies are potentially planning a merger, which would create the world's largest hotel group.

Based on the companies' current market values, a group consisting of Accor and Intercontinental Hotels together would be valued at $17 billion.

Le Figaro does not cite any sources for the information, but writes that Accor's management has been positive about the merger. However, no formal talks have reportedly taken place between the companies and Accor's chairman and CEO Sebastien Bazin is described as being cautious about moving forward with a merger proposal.

Accor is behind chains such as Ibis and Mövenpick, while Intercontinental owns Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and Park Royal.

Source: finwire