The Hindu Business Line : Indian Hotels buys Sydney's W Hotel for $27 million

THE Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), which runs the Taj group, has bought a property in Sydney for $27 million (about Rs 123 crore) from Harilela Group of Hong Kong, the company said on Wednesday.

The acquisition of the 100-room property called the W Hotel marks the entry of the Taj group in the Australian market, said a senior company official.

The property is now operated by Starwood Pacific Hotels under its `W' brand. Taj Hotels will re-brand and manage the hotel from early February 2006. The group is finalising details of positioning the property, the official said.

The acquisition, the company's first in Australia, will be financed with funds raised through its FCCB issue. Of the $150-million raised so far, the hotel has unused funds of $112 million.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Mr Anil Goel, Senior Vice-President, Finance, IHCL, said the company has bought out the entire stake of Samsara, the company that owned the hotel. The offshore company is owned by the Harilela Group.

IHCL has been rapidly expanding its overseas presence to take the Taj brand international, and, thus, create brand awareness in its key markets.

In the current year alone, IHCL has expanded in the US, taking over the management of The Pierre Hotel in New York in July. It has also signed management contracts for leisure properties in Malaysia (Rebak Island Marina Berhard) and Dubai (Taj Exotica Resort and Spa, Palm Island) this year.

The Taj group has also expressed its intention of setting up properties in China, Russia, and Singapore among other emerging destinations. With the acquisition of the Australian Hotel, the Taj now has 18 international properties spread across the US, the UK, Africa, West Asia and the Far East. Besides, it operates 56 hotels in 39 cities in the country.

The IHCL scrip closed Wednesday's session on the BSE at Rs 970.95 against the previous close of Rs 969.80.

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