IHCL
IHC, Oriental Hotels Limited announce merger. Why do you need to know about it?
The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) on Monday announced that Oriental Hotels Limited (OHL) will be merged with IHCL through a Scheme of Arrangement, subject to statutory approvals and clearances.
Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and CEO of IHCL, said the merger is part of the company's Accelerate 2030 strategy, aimed at creating value, simplifying the group's holding structure and unlocking the potential of OHL's portfolio.
“In line with our Accelerate 2030 strategy of creating value, simplifying the group’s holding structure and unlocking the full potential of OHL portfolio, including iconic assets like Taj Coromandel, Chennai, Taj Fisherman’s Cove Resort & Spa, Chennai and Taj Malabar Resort & Spa, Cochin, the Boards of IHCL and OHL have today approved this merger,” Chhatwal said.
He added that the merger would support long-term value creation by leveraging IHCL's strong balance sheet to fund strategic investments, including room inventory expansion and product upgrades, while further strengthening the premium positioning of the portfolio.
Oriental Hotels is an associate company of IHCL and operates a portfolio of seven hotels with 825 rooms.
Its freehold assets include Taj Coromandel in Chennai, Taj Fisherman’s Cove Resort & Spa in Chennai and Gateway Coonoor, while its long-term leasehold assets include Taj Malabar Resort & Spa in Cochin, Vivanta Coimbatore, Vivanta Mangalore and Gateway Madurai.
In addition, OHL has strategic investments in several IHCL group hotel companies in India and overseas, including St. James Court, TAL Hotels and Resorts Ltd, Lanka Island Resorts Ltd, Taj Madurai Ltd and Taj Karnataka Hotels and Resorts Ltd.
Pramod Ranjan, Managing Director and CEO of Oriental Hotels, said the merger would allow OHL shareholders to participate directly in IHCL's growth.
“IHCL, India’s largest hospitality ecosystem, has built a resilient and diversified business model anchored by a strong brandscape that caters to the country’s diverse travel needs. The company has delivered seventeen consecutive quarters of record performance, achieving fourfold portfolio growth, sustained double-digit increase in revenue and profitability and strong return on capital employed,” Ranjan said.
“The merger of OHL with IHCL will create significant value for OHL shareholders, enabling them to now participate directly in IHCL’s growth journey,” he added.
Ankur Dalwani, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of IHCL, said the proposed Scheme of Arrangement provides for a share exchange ratio of 25 IHCL shares for every 117 OHL shares.
The transaction will be an all-stock merger, with completion targeted for the second half of FY2028 and an Appointed Date of April 1, 2027.
Dalwani said the merger would further simplify the group's holding structure by increasing IHCL's direct ownership in several entities and creating two new operating subsidiaries.
According to IHCL, the restructuring is expected to streamline governance, optimise overheads, improve operational efficiency and support the company's Accelerate 2030 objectives.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
