EIH buys out JV partner Amex for Rs 200 cr

Oberoi hospitality chain owner, East India Hotels (EIH), today said it has completed acquisition of 49 per cent stake in its joint venture partner, Amex Investment in EIH Holdings, for $45 million (about Rs 200 crore).

"EIH International completed the acquisition of the 49 per cent equity interest of Amex Investment in its international hotels joint venture company EIH Holdings for $45 million as approved by the EIH board on May 5, 2010," the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

EIH holdings has now become a wholly owned subsidiary of EIH International. The company said the buyout would include equity investments in existing Oberoi Hotels in Mauritius, Indonesia and Egypt.

The acquisition would also include management contracts for operating hotels that it had invested in including the Oberoi Zahra Nile Cruiser in Egypt and new Oberoi hotel projects that are under construction or in planning stage including those in UAE, Morocco, Greece and Mauritius.

It was in May that the Kolkata-based firm had announced the board's approval of the buyout of its joint venture partner, Amex Investment.

"Amex wanted an exit. EIH decided to buy the interest of Amex," The Oberoi Group Chairman P R S Oberoi had said.

The company also said that the Oberoi Hotels, through its subsidiary Oberoi Holdings Hong Kong, has entered into global licensing agreements with EIH Holdings to operate 'The Oberoi' and 'Trident' brands.

Under the licensing agreement, EIH Holdings would have exclusive rights to own and operate Oberoi and Trident hotels globally except in India.