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.
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.
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.
A battle royale, fought over 15 long years, comes to an end as a prince and a princess -- grandchildren of the legendary Rajmata Gayatri Devi -- get back the Jai Mahal Palace Hotel from their step-uncles.