DLF sells Amanresorts for $358 mn

Realty firm DLF today announced the sale of its luxury hospitality chain Amanresorts to its original founder Adrian Zecha for USD 358 million (about Rs 2,200 crore), a development that would help the company trim net debt and exit from non-core businesses.

In December 2012, DLF had signed a pact with Indonesian hotelier Zecha to sell Amanresorts for USD 300 million (about Rs 1,600 crore). However, the deal was not completed in the stipulated time-frame of June 2013, forcing DLF to walk out of the exclusivity pact.

After ending the exclusivity clause, the realty major was in discussion with Zecha and a few other potential investors to sell Amanresorts which has about 25 properties across the world.

In a statement, DLF said its subsidiary, DLF Global Hospitality Ltd, has completed the sale of entire 100 per cent stake in Silverlink Resorts Ltd, which owns Amanresorts, to Aman Resorts Group Ltd for "an enterprise value of USD 358 million."

Aman Resorts Group Ltd is a Joint Venture between Peak Hotels and Resorts Group Ltd and Adrian Zecha.

The deal excludes the iconic Lodhi Hotel in Delhi which shall remain a part of DLF Ltd.

"The sale has been in the form of management buyout. DLF Global Hospitality Ltd had purchased 100 per cent equity in Amanresorts in 2007 from a group of investors," DLF said.

Commenting on the deal, DLF Executive Director Finance Saurabh Chawla said, "This sale of business is another major milestone in DLF's strategy to focus on its core business of real estate and divest non-core businesses and assets."

Zecha said, "I am delighted to partner with Peak as they share my vision for Aman's future growth and are committed to sustaining our company's reputation for many decades to come."

Peak Hotels and Resorts Ltd is an investor in the luxury hospitality industry.

To reduce debt and focus on core realty business, DLF has been selling its non-core assets since last three years. It has raised about Rs 10,000 crore through divestment of its non-core assets that includes hotel plots, wind energy and insurance businesses.

DLF's net debt stood at Rs 19,508 crore at the end of the September quarter of this fiscal and it had targeted to reduce the borrowing to Rs 17,500 crore be March this year. With the completion of the Amanresorts deal, the debt reduction target would be achieved easily.

In December last year, DLF completed sale of its 74 per cent stake in the joint venture DLF Pramerica Life Insurance to Dewan Housing Finance for an estimated Rs 250 crore.

DLF also sold its wind turbine projects in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu with a total capacity of 227 MW for about Rs 700 crore.

The company had sold 17 acres of prime land in Mumbai to Lodha Developers for about Rs 2,700 crore in August 2012, nearly four times higher than the price at which the company had bought this parcel seven years ago in 2005.

DLF had posted a net profit of Rs 711.92 crore over a turnover of Rs 7,772.84 crore in the 2012-13 fiscal.