Infy co-founder expands role in hospitality space

N S Raghavan, one of the co-founders of Infosys, is expanding his presence in the hospitality sector.

Nadathur Holdings, the investment vehicle owned by Raghavan, through one of its affiliates SilverNeedle Hospitality has formed a joint venture with Sri Lanka-based Sunshine Travels.

This joint venture is expected to invest approximately $50 Million in a pha-sed manner to develop, acquire and manage hotel ass-ets in different parts of the country.

Sunshine Travels is a part of Sunshine Holdings PLC, a diversified conglomerate with interests in Healthcare, Plantations, FMCG, Packaging, Tourism, Telecom and Power. The group, with revenues exceeding $100 million is listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange.

Raghavan is routing this joint venture through Nadathur Far East Pte Ltd’s affiliate, SilverNeedle Hospitality Singapore, to develop and manage several new hotels in Sri Lanka.

o3 Capital were the exc-lusive advisors to the tra-nsaction.

SilverNeedle Hospitality, is an integrated Asian hospitality company newly setup by the Nadathur Group and is making investments across the hospitality sector; developing several of its own signature hotels and resorts; and manages three, four and five star properties across the Asia-Pacific. SilverNeedle plans to have over 10,000 rooms in its network, available across Asia-Pacific in five years.

In addition to investing from the family-office fund, Raghavan, runs a venture capital fund.