EIH succession plan in couple of years: P R S Oberoi

EIH will have its succession plan in place in the next couple of years, EIH chairman, P R S Oberoi, said.

“I think about it all the time. I intend to do something at an appropriate time..may be in a year or two,” Oberoi said, responding to queries at a press conference on the sidelines of the company’s annual general meeting.

Oberoi’s son Vikram Oberoi and nephew Arjun Oberoi are both joint managing directors of EIH Ltd.

Asked whether the group was looking to create a second powerhouse EIH Associated Hotels since some of the assets had been transferred, as part of the succession plan, Oberoi said, the company had no such plans, but nothing was impossible.

The group has charted out a growth plan through managing properties. At present, the company has two managed properties, but over the next five years, it could be 50 per cent. The projects in the pipeline had virtually no cash requirements.

The group is not looking to sell stake. There was no concentrated effort to look for a partner, however, if somebody believed in the ideology of the Oberoi brand, things could be different.

“Post-Analjit Singh we are not looking at anything. There had been some casual discussion. Point is, we were looking for a partner who can together grow ths business. At that point of time we were doing a project at Analjit Singh, that is where it stemmed from. If tomorrow someone says that he is prepared to invest in 20 hotels, we will manage, we will see,” vice chairman, S S Mukherjee said.

Asked about a partnership with ITC, Oberoi said, there was no such proposal.

At the ITC annual general meeting last year chairman Y C Deveshwar had suggested joining hands for a joint ownership or marketing. In EIH, ITC’s holding is at the threshold limit of 14.98 per cent, a shade less than 15 per cent that would trigger a mandatory open offer according to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) regulations.

However, Oberoi is not worried. Recently, Deveshwar said that it was against hostile takeovers. Oberoi’s stake in EIH was at a comfortable level at around 46 per cent. The company would continue increasing stake through the creeping acquisition route.