Indian Hotels Company Ltd. (IHCL) is planning to merge and thereby consolidate its three investment arms into one entity by the next fiscal year. The move is in line with IHCL’s plan to reduce its number of subsidiaries.

Currently, the company has three investment companies: Taj Holdings Ltd.(THL), Taj Trade and Travel Investment Company(TTTIC) and Taj Investment and Finance Company Ltd.(TIFC). Other than THL, in which IHCL has a 95 per cent stake, the other two investment companies are 100 per cent subsidiaries of IHCL.

The company plans to consolidate the three in two stages. In the first stage, it plans on making THL and TTTIC, 100 per cent subsidiaries of TIFC, and in the second stage of consolidation, merging all three into TIFC.

IHCL ha also bagged ITDC’s Chandigarh property, for the princely sum of Rs.17crore. The property which came up on sale in the disinvestment process consists currently of land and an incomplete building. According to IHCL executive-director Zubin Dubash, Chandigarh, though not a major metro, falls into the second rung of cities, where the Taj presence was required.

With no major players in the Chandigarh market, IHCL, through its subsidiary Taj GVK, has acquired the property with plans to finish construction. "There are currently only two players in Chandigarh, both of whom are state owned. We felt that acquiring this property fitted in with the Taj GVK strategy and with IHCL’s strategy as well," he said. The company has not yet decided definitely, under which umbrella of the Taj group the property will be branded. Mr. Dubash felt that it would probably be under the ‘Residency’ brand of the chain.