Oberoi on hotel expansion drive; denies stake sale plans

P R S Oberoi, chairman of EIH Ltd, which runs the Oberoi and Trident hotel groups, said on Friday the group plans to launch nine hotels, including two in West Asia, under the Oberoi and Trident brands.

Oberoi said he had no intention of selling a stake in EIH Ltd. Rumours have been rife that the Oberois might sell their stake to Max India owner Analjit Singh, or ITC might launch a hostile takeover bid for the hotel chain.

''We are not planning any stake sale as of now. But I cannot stop anybody from buying shares in the company from the market,'' he said.

EIH promoters, including the Oberoi family, hold about 46.4 per cent in the group flagship company. Tobacco-to-hotels major ITC holds 14.98 per cent, while Analjit Singh owns about 9 per cent.

ITC will have to come up with an open offer if it crosses 15 per cent equity holding in EIH. And with a floating stock of around 30 per cent, even an open offer cannot support a hostile takeover without the participation from either the Oberoi family or Analjit Singh.

Oberoi said the group's property in Gurgaon would be operational soon. He plans to set up two hotels in Hyderabad, one under the Trident brand and the other under the Oberoi name. A property under the Trident brand is being set up in Dehradun as also a resort hotel near Chandigarh.