The Bhatias of IndiGo Airline have emerged as top bidders for Novotel Hyderabad Airport, a GMR group hotel, in a deal worth Rs 300 crore. A Delhi-based chewing tobacco maker, which owns a few properties in the country, too has been shortlisted by the infrastructure major.
Initially, over a dozen parties, including PE biggies, had shown interest in the 305-room property located at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. The list has now been cropped to two.
If things go well, the deal will mark the Bhatias' first hospitality sector acquisition, with Novotel Hyderabad expanding their portfolio. Their InterGlobe Hotels, a JV with French hospitality chain Accor, runs the Ibis budget hotels. Currently, there are seven Ibis properties and 12 are under various stages of development. It is not clear whether the Bhatias will use InterGlobe Hotels or their hotel-focused PE fund (a three-way partnership between InterGlobe, Accor and Pacifica Partners) as the vehicle for the acquisition.
Novotel Hyderabad, managed by Europe's largest hotel operator Accor, opened its doors to guests in 2009. Besides Ibis, Accor also owns Novotel, Sofitel, Pullman and Formule 1 brands.
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