IHG might have turned down a $10.1 billion bid to purchase the company this week, but now it’s under pressure from a shareholder to make a deal.

　　InterContinental Hotels Group might have turned down a $10.1 billion bid to purchase the company this week, but now it's under pressure from a shareholder to make a deal.

　　Marcato Capital Management LP, a San Francisco-based hedge fund that owns a 3.8 percent stake in IHG, on Thursday called for the company's management to seek a merger.

　　"We believe that a combination with a larger hotel operator would have compelling strategic and financial merit and represents a unique opportunity to reshape the global hospitality industry," said Marcato founder and managing partner Mick McGuire, according to Reuters.

　　"We strongly encourage InterContinental Hotels Group's board of directors to explore such a combination and engage advisers to conduct a formal process to ensure it evaluates the full range of opportunities available to maximize value," he said, according to The New York Times.

　　Over the weekend, an unnamed suitor approached the UK-based chain, owner of such brands as Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn, with an offer to take over the company. The multibillion-dollar bid was said to be rejected three weeks ago and the company has picked up its stock repurchasing effort since the bid, suggesting it is not in an active dialogue with the suitor(s).

　　According to Reuters, IHG announced in early May it would return $750 million to shareholders and was considering selling off more hotels to boost further cash returns, bolstering its share price and reducing the bid premium.

　　Under the leadership of chief executive Richard Solomons, IHG has gone for an "asset light" strategy – selling the hotels it owns in return for long-term management contracts and returning the proceeds to shareholders, according to the Financial Times.

　　IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,700 hotels and 688,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories, with more than 1,100 hotels in its development pipeline, according to the company.

　　IHG has so far declined to comment.