Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) has received an in-principle approval for acquiring the balance outstanding 93.1% Class A common shares of Orient-Express Hotels, a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The board at its meeting held on October 19, 2012 has approved for the same.
IHCL through its wholly owned subsidiary Samsara Properties currently holds 7,130,764 Class A common shares of Orient-Express Hotel. The company currently has an effective shareholding in Orient-Express Hotels aggregating to 6.9%, which was acquired by the company in stages during 2007 and 2009.
Besides, the company proposes to finance the acquisition of such shares and related transaction costs through a combination of debt and equity. The total funds required to consummate the transaction is in place. The company also has an agreement with Montezemolo & Partners an important Italian company directly owned by the Montezemolo family who is the Manager of Charme II Fund, which will be a minority shareholder in the Special Purpose Vehicle set up for the transaction.
Further, the combination of IHCL and Orient-Express Hotels is a strategically compelling opportunity for both companies as also for its respective shareholders.
IHCL and its subsidiaries are collectively known as Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces. The Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces currently has 93 hotels in 55 locations across India with an additional 16 international hotels in the Maldives, Malaysia, Australia, UK, USA, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Africa and the Middle East.
