Indian Hotels buys 11.5 pc stake in Orient-Express for $247mn
The Economic Times — December 10, 2007

Indian conglomerate Tata group has raised its stake to 11.5 per cent in Orient-Express Hotels, while proposing a strategic tie-up with the owner of numerous luxury brands in the US and Europe.

Late on Friday, Bermuda-headquartered and US-listed Orient-Express disclosed in a regulatory filing here that Indian Hotels, a Tata group company, has raised its stake to 11.5 per cent through open market purchases.

Earlier in September, Tata group had said it had acquired a 10-per cent stake in Orient-Express for USD 211.3 million and was seeking talks for a proposed strategic partnership.

According to the latest filing, Indian Hotels purchased additional 632,920 shares of Orient-Express in the open market for USD 35.7 million between September 17 and December 7, thus raising its stake to 11.5 per cent.

This included 234,320 shares purchased on December 7 at a price of USD 60 per share in Orient-Express that owns New York's 21 Club restaurants, among other prestigious properties.

Orient-Express said in the filing that since September 14, Indian Hotels has repeatedly sought a meeting to explore opportunities for a possible association.

At a meeting with CEO Paul M White on October 12, Indian Hotels outlined a proposal for a possible association and thereafter sent a letter clarifying the nature of the deal. Having failed to elicit any response, Indian Hotels on November 14 sent another letter to White reiterating its intention to develop an alliance, it said.

Orient said Indian Hotels intended to continue to explore a possible alliance. However, it has not taken any steps to explore any such association, Orient noted.