Karlovy Vary will reconsider the intention to acquire the Thermal spa hotel

Karlovy Vary - Karlovy Vary will reevaluate its intention to acquire the spa hotel Thermal, which is still state-owned. The previous council adopted a resolution that committed the city to acquiring it. However, the current council members want to discuss this matter again. This will likely happen in September. The proposal to express the city's relationship to acquiring the hotel was presented at today’s council meeting by Jaroslav Růžička from the opposition (SNK ED) and was also accepted by the ruling coalition of ODS, ČSSD, and the Green Party.
    The proposal to again pursue the acquisition of a certain package of shares in the Thermal hotel from the state was also supported by Josef Murčo (KSČM). According to him, it is necessary to know the specific conditions under which the state would transfer shares to the city. "Once we sought a free transfer of Thermal. If we now have to pay for the shares, it is necessary to know their exact price before we take such a step," he noted. Jiří Kotel (SNK ED) then demanded that the resolution be supplemented to specify from which sources the city would finance the transaction.
    The renewed discussion on the intention to acquire the Thermal hotel, or at least a decisive ownership share, according to Deputy Mayor Tomáš Hybner (ČSSD) does not mean that the city does not care about one of the largest hotels in Karlovy Vary. However, because the responsibility would fall on the current council, they want to examine the intention in detail. "The only reason we would step back from acquiring the hotel would be if the price is too high. We must be clear whether to engage in the transaction alone or perhaps with a strategic partner. And how far we are willing to go regarding the price," Hybner told ČTK.
    The privatization of Thermal has been ongoing for 14 years. The National Property Fund announced a public tender for the sale of the state-owned enterprise Thermal in 1993. The minimum price at that time was 270 million crowns. The winner, the company Jasmín, offered half a billion. However, they never paid. Although the High Court later returned the hotel to the National Property Fund, another applicant remains in the game - the company XaR. They finished in second place and offered 350 million crowns for Thermal. They are currently involved in a legal dispute with the state over the hotel. The hotel is now operated by the state company Thermal - F.