The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) has entered into a strategic partnership with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC to set up an investment Platform to the tune of Rs. 4000 crores over a period of three years to acquire fully operational hotels in the luxury, upper upscale and upscale segments in India.
“This platform will look at potential hotel assets primarily located in key lodging markets in India. The mandate is to acquire fully operational hotels which will also include distressed or underperforming hotels that can be turned around banking on IHCL’s experience and capabilities,” IHCL said.
“This collaboration is in line with Aspiration 2022 and our vision to scale up, create greater enterprise value and make IHCL South Asia’s most iconic and profitable hospitality company,” Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, IHCL said.
“Through this Platform, we expect to acquire strategic and marquee assets that need new ownership, branding and positioning.”
Through this platform, IHCL will be able to pursue acquisitions in an asset light format, with the equity contribution from IHCL at 30 per cent and the balance 70 per cent contributed by GIC. Each acquisition is intended to be in a separate SPV with its own funding. The hotels acquired will be managed by IHCL under its various brands and complement the company’s current growth aspirations via Management Contracts.
Kok Sun Lee, Chief Investment Officer of GIC Real Estate, said, “As a long-term investor, we are confident in the outlook of India’s hospitality sector. We look forward to working closely with established partners such as IHCL to pursue attractive opportunities and capture the sector’s growth potential.”
