Posted by Andrew Lipsitz
The Pritzker family, which controls Hyatt Hotels Corp., has been feuding on and off for a decade. So it follows that the dynastic squabbling continues as they plan for a Hyatt stock offering that should help reduce the family tensions.
The family in-fighting is a big enough issue that recent revisions to the prospectus for the Hyatt initial public offering include a specific warning about it. The company's initial filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission didn't mention the past family battles.
The amendments, filed as recently as last Thursday, warn that new family disagreements "may arise or continue in the future" and could "disrupt our business." In connection with the Hyatt stock offering, a dispute arose over restrictions on what family members could do with their shares, according to the amendments. As a result, some of the restrictions were loosened. For instance, family members will be able to sell up to 25% of their Hyatt holdings each 12 months, instead of the 20% originally contemplated.
The most recent prospectus amendment says that allowing the Pritzkers to sell their shares more quickly could have a negative affect on Hyatt's stock price. Another apparent bone of contention involves the role of Penny Pritzker as one of Hyatt's "independent" directors. The 50-year-old Ms. Pritzker has been heavily involved in running other family companies, some of which do business with Hyatt. She is also a first cousin of Hyatt's executive chairman, Thomas J. Pritzker, who is one of three trustees of family trusts. Mr. Pritzker, 59, is the only other family member on the board.
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