New Delhi: Emirati business tycoon Rashid Al-Habtoor has evinced interest in acquiring the Leela Group of Hotels in India with an equity infusion of about USD 600 million (about Rs. 4,200 crore) and has made an offer in a letter to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the hotel.
In the letter dated Jan 15 containing a "revised offer" to Jaitley, Al-Habtoor, who had visited India last week, said: "We understand that time is an essence and the entire transaction has to be completed by March 31. We are therefore conducting a macro due diligence of the company."
"Simultaneously, our legal team will work on he binding documents required for the transaction which can be executed on completion of due diligence procedures," he said in the letter also addressed Rajnish Kumar, Chairman of SBI, the lender to the hotel, Vivek Nair, Chairman and Managing Director of Leelaventure and Anil Bhatia, Managing Director and CEO of JM Financial Asset Restructuring Company (JMARC).
Al-Habtoor, with a personal networth of $550 million, is the founder and CEO of Al-Habtoor Trading Enterprises and owns the Habtoor hotel chain.