LVMH, HNA Group, Middle Eastern fund in race for DLF's Amanresorts

Three overseas companies from France, China and the Middle East are expected to bid for DLF's luxury hotel chain Amanresorts International, Reuters yesterday reported, citing two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

LVMH, the French multinational luxury goods conglomerate, China's air transportation company HNA Group and a Middle Eastern fund, whose name was not immediately available to Reuters, will submit a binding bid for Amanresorts International.

DLF, India's largest developer, expects bids in excess of $400 million, a company official had told the news agency. The assets for sale include 22 hotels in 12 countries, but not the Aman resort in New Delhi.

The cash-strapped DLF – recently charged with a hefty fine by the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission for unfair trade practices – has been actively getting rid of its 'non-core' assets for some months now in order to reduce its debt of 215.24 billion rupees ($4.4 billion) at the end of June.

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.

Bloomberg had reported last month that DLF has received at least five non-binding bids of $400 million to $450 million for Amanresorts.