US-based Orient Express Hotels has termed the $1.86 billion acquisition offer by Tata group firm Indian Hotels as 'unsolicited' and said it will evaluate the proposal 'carefully and respond' accordingly.
One of the world's most magnificent trains, the Venice Simplon-Orient Express train recreates the original Orient-Express route from Paris to Istanbul once a year with restored cars and luxury suites from the 1920s.
Orient-Express Hotels (OEH), the Bermuda-based owner and operator of luxury hotels, trains, river cruises and restaurants, is open to expanding its global reach, which could include a base in India.
These 10 spectacular trains promise the most exciting and luxurious journeys through historic places, rocky mountains, forests, deserts and even snowcapped landscapes.
Burdened by debt from their rapid expansion in the last few years and the shrinking economy, many hotel chains are now casting around for buyers to sell their assets.
Orient-Express says the bid amount is significantly low and undervalues the assets of the company.
It will expand their footprint radically, give them a huge presence at the top end of the market, and reduce their dependence on India.
The spin-offs from providing some sort of formal training for the hospitality business are huge.
In an attempt to allay concerns of the US-based hospitality chain, Indian Hotels Co Ltd vice-chairman R K Krishna Kumar, in a letter to Lovejoy, said the Tata group firm would like to engage in a constructive dialogue.
In a second attempt to take control of Orient Express, Indian Hotels on Thursday made $1.86 billion offer to acquire the international luxury hotels operator.
Swinging back into profit for the third-quarter with net earnings of about $18 million, luxury hotel chain operator Orient Express on Friday said it is consulting financial and legal advisors on the Tata group's takeover bid and will reply to the offer in due course of time.
Firm's board expected to meet by Thursday to take a call on the offer.
Indian Hotels' ambitious bid to acquire Orient-Express Hotels (OEH) has disappointed the Street. However, this might be a knee-jerk reaction.
US-based luxury hotel chain operator Orient Express has brought on its board an Indian-origin restaurant business entrepreneur Harsha V Agadi as an independent director.
As the economies of emerging markets boom and their biggest conglomerates grow into multinationals, more and more of the new corporate giants in countries ranging from India to China, Russia and Brazil are looking to wring greater profits out of their respective industries.
After a silence of about three months, Orient-Express Hotels, the Bermuda-based luxury hotel chain, has finally broken its silence on the apology sought by Indian Hotels Company Limited.
In a reply to Tatas' proposal for a possible association, Orient-Express, which owns New York's prestigious Club 9 Restaurants and a number of luxury hotel brands in the US and other countries, said in a statement that aligning with Tatas' "predominantly domestic Indian hotel chain" would adversely impact the brand value of its premium properties.
Orient-Express has rejected repeated approaches from Tata's Indian Hotels Company, with the issue turning into a public spat in December when the US group said it believed such an alliance would damage the value of its brands.
Tata Group on Wednesday accused the management of a US-listed luxury hotel group of a "fossilised frame of mind" for suggesting the Indian group's hotel chain would be an unsuitable strategic partner, and has demanded a public apology.
Publicly available data concerning the North American properties of both the hotel chains showed that Orient's average room rates were "meaningfully" below those of Taj's properties. Also, as per the latest financial statements, the trailing 12 month EBITDA margin of Indian Hotels was around 15 per cent higher than that of Oriental, Tatas said.
Stung by the US super luxury hotel chain Orient Express' rebuff to be associated with the Tatas-owned Taj Hotels, the Tatas on Thursday shot off a letter to the American company's alleging its posture was "libellous".
Dubai Holding, an investment firm of the Dubai government, has threatened to come out with an open offer for Orient-Express Hotels if the Tata group acquires a significant stake in the hotel chain. This comes exactly a month after the Tata group's Indian Hotels Company bought 10 per cent and expressed interest in striking a deal which was turned down by Orient-Express.
This acquisition may be a precursor to an association with Orient-Express, which owns or part-owns and manages 35 hotels in 25 countries.
The sudden resignation and almost-immediate announcement of a successor came as a surprise to many.
The 36 new properties, which will also include expansion across two new countries, will add 5,431 rooms.
The company divests from properties abroad to focus on its key markets.
The 112-year old hotel chain has readied a three-pronged turnaround plan
Fourteen per cent of the $16 billion invested by Ratan Tata in M&As abroad has been written off by his successor.
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