Luxury group LVMH likely to bid for DLF’s Amanresorts
06 Sep 2011
French conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the world's biggest maker of luxury accessories and fine liquors under several brands, could be among the bidders for Amanresorts International Pte, the luxury hotel chain of India's biggest real estate developer DLF Ltd, according to a Bloomberg report.
Amanresorts owns and manages 25 small luxury resorts worldwide.
The cash-strapped DLF – recently charged a hefty fine by India's Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission for unfair trade practices – has been actively getting rid of its 'non-core' assets for some months now (See: Competition regulator once again finds DLF guilty of anti-trust rules).
The Delhi-based company is seeking to raise as much as Rs10,000 crore ($2.2 billion) through asset sales to repay debt, according to its latest annual report.
According to Bloomberg, DLF has received at least five non-binding bids of $400 million to $450 million for Amanresorts.
LVMH, the maker of Celine handbags and TAG Heuer watches, said in April 2010 it plans to open two luxury property developments on islands in Oman and Egypt under the Cheval Blanc brand.