EIH to buy out Amex Investment's stake in international JV for Rs198 crore

East India Hotels Ltd (EIH), owner of the Trident and Oberoi hotel chains, today announced plans to buy out its Hong Kong-based partner Amex Investment's 45.85 per cent stake in their international joint venture, EIH Holdings British Virgin Islands, for Rs198 crore ($45.85 million).

EIH board has approved the acquisition and the transaction will be carried out through its wholly owned subsidiary, EIH International Ltd British Virgin Islands, EIH said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

"A letter of intent for the acquisition has been signed with the principal shareholder of Amex. The proposed transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including mutual agreement of the formal transaction documents and applicable regulatory approvals," EIH said in its stock market filing.

The acquisition will give EIH sole control over the joint venture firm's interests in hotel investments in Mauritius, Bali and Lombok in Indonesia and Sahl Hasheesh in Egypt.

It will also give it hotel management contracts for new Oberoi hotel projects in Dubai, Marrakech in Morocco, Greece and a second hotel in the Mauritius, all of which are either under construction or in the planning stages.

EIH Holdings will now enter into new long-term global licensing agreement with exclusive rights to use the 'Oberoi' and 'Trident' brands globally, similar to what EIH has been doing for many years.