Mar. 11, 2003 - Francie Schulwolf wears many hats at hotel giant Six Continents PLC, but it's not because she juggles a lot of jobs. 

Schulwolf, a spokeswoman for the London-based company, has a cap collection that mirrors her employer's propensity for changing its name. She's got a black hat with the words Holiday Hospitality in white, a beige one with a red triangle for Bass Hotels & Resorts and another emblazoned with a big white 6 -- for Six Continents, of course. 

Now Schulwolf will be getting a new hat. Her company, which keeps its North American headquarters in Atlanta, is on the verge of another name change, this time to emphasize the company's hotel businesses under the identity of its most prestigious brand. 

Next month, Six Continents, which counts Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts and Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts chains among its properties, becomes InterContinental Hotels Group PLC. 

The name change to InterContinental Hotels Group is meant, in part, to affiliate the company with its most majestic brand. 

"If you are a person who doesn't like change, you would not like working here," said Schulwolf. "We're changing to get closer to what we do." 

But Six Continents has more to worry about than a name change and a new round of hats. Several would-be suitors are taking a look at the company, which already faces a hostile takeover bid. London-based Capital Management & Investment, led by food and beverage entrepreneur Hugh Osmond, has offered $8.8 billion for the company. 

Osmond is against Six Continents' plan to separate its retail and hotel businesses, which would create InterContinental Hotels Group for the hotel division and Mitchells & Butlers PLC for the retail division. Six Continents says splitting the two would allow the company to better focus its resources and to clarify its core business and expertise in each market. 

Osmond also says Six Continents has been a poor hotel operator, a weak deal maker that sold interests like bingo clubs and betting shops too cheaply, and a poor financier that only maintained dividends by using disposal cash or by pushing up debt. 

Six Continents has repeatedly criticized the takeover bid and says its separation plan will return the best value to shareholders. IAHI, the owners' association of Six Continents Hotel franchisees, also has spoken out against Osmond's bid. 

"CMI's proposal is opportunistic, risky and transfers huge value to CMI's directors," said Tim Clarke, chief executive of Six Continents. "We have no hesitation in categorically rejecting it and continuing to recommend to our shareholders that separating our hotels and pubs businesses is the right way forward." 

Shareholders will vote on Six Continents' separation proposal Wednesday. 

Six Continents may also have another suitor. Marriott International Inc. and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. reportedly have expressed interest in purchasing the company. No specific offer, however, has emerged. 

Over the years, Six Continents has been known by such names as Holiday Inns Inc. of America, Holiday Hospitality, Holiday Corp., Bass Hotels & Resorts and Six Continents. 

Those switches were an attempt to reflect the company's growth, Schulwolf said. As Six Continents -- with roots that date back to the founding of the first Holiday Inn more than 50 years ago -- acquired smaller concerns, managers sought names that showed the company's reach and priorities. 

The company began in 1952 with the first Holiday Inn, in Memphis. A decade later the company evolved into Holiday Inns of America after the concept became a chain. As Holiday Inns began popping up outside the United States in the 1980s, the company chose Holiday Inn Worldwide to reflect its international presence. 

By the time Bass PLC, best known for its brewing business, came on the scene in 1988, the company had acquired a number of hotel chains -- like Granada Hometels -- and created its own high-end brand, Crowne Plaza. By 1999, however, the Bass brewing division was sold off, along with its trademark, forcing what remained of Bass Hotels & Resorts to seek another name. The company became Six Continents in 2001. 

Mark Woodworth, executive vice president of PKF Consulting Inc., which studies the hotel industry, said Six Continents' changes reflect its ability to grow internationally. He said as companies expand, it's not uncommon for their leaders to look for ways to establish an identity that allows the company to broaden its appeal. 

"InterContinental Hotels is a great brand name to leverage international brand growth," he said. 

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