Sheraton is poised to take over management of the Holiday Inn Penang, TravelWeekly Eastunderstands. Neil Palmer, Sheraton’s area boss for Malaysia, confirmed today (May 11) that the group "is in the throes" of negotiations to take over the beachside property which has been in Holiday Inn’s hands since its opening more than a decade ago. He said more details needed to be finalised before he could make an official announcement. Owners of Holiday Inn Penang, the Harilela group, are believed to have spent US$2 million on a complete makeover of its main beach wing. They added a back wing some years back but that remains unrenovated. If the deal goes through, this would be Sheraton's second hotel in the Malaysian island. The other Sheraton Penang is located downtown. The Harilelas also own the Holiday Inn Parkview Singapore and the Holiday Inn Golden Mile in Hong Kong.