The Ministry of Industry says that it will sell Paradores, but truly considers the deal a way to bring in private investors. This kind of maneuver is typically less costly from a tax perspective compared to relying on capital inflow, but not in Paradores's case, because the hotel company is mostly a property manager, not a property owner. That said, they do have some property holdings.
For now, only NH and Barceló have shown interest. Several main obstacles exist. Now is not the best time for these kinds of deal, both companies have debt on their balance sheets, the conditions that would be imposed are being ignored, and the tourist environment has been heavily impacted by the financial crisis and slowdown of Spanish credit markets.
One must sell at the right time. And with all the factors working against the decision makers for this deal, it does not look like Parados is not at a stage to sell.
