Indian Hotels Hikes Stake In 4 Arms For Rs 93 Crore

The Indian Hotels Company, which operates the Taj group of hotels, has invested Rs 93 crore during the last year to hike its stake in four of its key subsidiaries -- Piem Hotels, Taj Lanka Hotels, Taj GVK Hotels & Resorts and Asia Pacific Hotels.

The company bought out stakes of other Taj group and Tata group companies by investing almost Rs 14 crore in Piem Hotels, its subsidiary which owns the Taj President, Mumbai.

Senior Taj officials said: "We wanted the holdings to be under one hotel company." Following the transaction, Indian Hotels' stake in Piem Hotels has risen to almost 50 per cent.

In Taj Lanka Hotels, the hotel major invested close to Rs 27 crore. Indian Hotels runs three properties in Sri Lanka through this subsidiary.

The company pumped in Rs 50 crore in Asia Pacific Hotels, which owns the Taj Exotica in Goa, taking the investment in the arm up to Rs 69.50 crore.

According to senior officials, the infusion of fresh equity was because of the excessive debt of the subsidiary. Following the infusion, it has been reduced to Rs 69.02 crore from Rs 98.69 crore.

Indian Hotels' investment in Taj GVK Hotels & Resorts, which owns the Taj Krishna, Taj Banjara, Taj Residency and Falaknuma Palace, stands at Rs 40 crore. Hotel Shree Krishna was also merged with Taj GVK at a swap ratio of 1:5 in the last year.

Indian Hotels will have to make substantial investments in the current year too in line with its plans to acquire new premium properties in the US.