Pritzker Family's Hyatt hotels ready to IPO?

The Pritzkers, likely Chicago's richest family, and owners of Hyatt hotels, may be ready to go public, according to the Financial Times.

"Hyatt, the hotel group owned by the billionaire Pritzker family, will be in a position to launch an initial public offering "by the end of the year", according to Tom Pritzker, the company's chairman and chief executive.

In a rare interview, Mr Pritzker said Hyatt would be compliant with Sarbanes-Oxley rules for quoted companies by the end of 2006, following a three-year restructuring and consolidation of the family's hospitality investments on a single balance sheet."

"Amit Kapoor, a research analyst with Gabelli & Co, the US fund manager, said a Hyatt IPO could value the group at as much as $11bn."