DLF is reportedly raising Rs.500 crore by sell of its stake in hotel subsidiary to Kolkata-based Square Four Housing & Infrastructure Private Ltd. This is DLF’s third divestment in the last three month as it disposes non-core assets to pare its Rs.22,500 crore debt.
DLF had acquired Hilton International’s 26% stake in DLF Hotels & Hospitality for Rs.120 crore and is now the sole owner of the hotels unit which own land parcels in four cities – Kolkata, Chennai, Mysore and Thiruvananthapuram.
This subsidiary’s assets do not include Aman Resorts, another non-core asset that DLF is in talks to sell. According to the DLF sources DLF has signed a non-disclosure agreement with Square Four and expects to conclude the deal by third week of January 2012.
The stake purchase from Hilton was a precursor to a total selloff, a DLF representative said requesting anonymity. “We are in discussion with DLF and cannot comment until we achieve the financial closure of the deal,” said Square Four Housing chairman and managing director Ganesh Singhania. The DLF spokesperson, however, declined to comment.
DLF Hotels would be the third big-ticket asset sale by the realty giant in the current fiscal. Earlier this month, it completed the sale of its IT Park in Noida to IDFC for Rs.512 crore. A couple of months ago, DLF divested a 28-acre land parcel in Gurgaon for Rs.400 crore.
Sources maintain Square Four has already paid a part of the financial consideration and expects to complete the deal by third week of January. It is in discussions with financial institutions to raise resources to fund the transaction.
Square Four will develop the Kolkata and Chennai land parcels for hotel-cum-commercial-cum-
