PE-controlled hospitality firm SAMHI Hotels Pvt Ltd has agreed to acquire entire equity stake in RK Jatia Group-owned Ascent Hotels Pvt Ltd from its existing shareholders for an undisclosed amount.
Ascent Hotels is a joint venture between Jatia Group, which holds about 81 per cent equity interest in the venture, and Pune-based Vascon Engineers with nearly 19 per cent stake.
Ascent Hotels owns Hyatt Regency hotel in Pune. Opened in 2012, Hyatt Regency a five-star property with 222 rooms and 102 fully serviced luxury apartments.
Initially, SAMHI bought entire 81 per cent equity stake from Jatia Group. The deal completed on February 5, 2016.
Besides, it has also signed a share purchase agreement with Vascon Engineers to buy the latter's about 19 per cent stake for around Rs 26.67 crore (approximately $4 million). The Vascon transaction is yet to be completed.
Meanwhile, the hospitality firm has also agreed to infuse an unsecured loan from HDFC Ltd and DBS Bank Ltd into Ascent Hotels.
Vascon Engineers will sell the entire stake. However, it will continue to be an investor in Ascent Hotels as it has also signed a subscription cum shareholder agreement with Ascent Hotels to subscribe to 67,26,394 optionally convertible redeemable debentures (OCRD) worth Rs 30.42 crore with an option to convert into equity shares of equal numbers.
The OCRDs shall be converted into 9,618,743 shares as and when Ascent Hotels achieves an EBITA of Rs 70 crore.
Founded by Ashish Jakhanwala and Manav Thadani, SAMHI is a privately owned hotel asset company that specialises in development, acquisition and ownership of branded hotels. Sam Zell-led Equity International, GTI Capital Group and International Finance Corporation own a controlling stake in the company.
Recently, SAMHI had raised Rs 441 crore ($66 million) from PE major Goldman Sachs to acquire more ready or under-construction assets with the fresh money infusion.
The hotel investment firm has 25 hotels with 3,900 rooms managed by five brands, including Marriott, Starwood Hotels, Accor Hotels and Hyatt in its portfolio, according to its website.
