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Hotel Leelaventure Ltd plans to raise Rs 1,950 crore as part of its debt restructuring exercise. This move, it says, will help cut its Rs 3,800- crore debt by half.
The hotelier aims to take its debt equity ratio to 1.5:1 by the end of the restructuring process, and has put in place a slew of plans to achieve this. These include the sale of five per cent of the promoters' stake, sale of land parcels and a possible conversion of foreign currency bonds.
“The remaining loan is long-term and can be repaid in the next 10 to 15 years,” said Mr Vivek Nair, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director. He was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the new Leela Palace property in the city.
The hotelier plans to allot 14.95 per cent of preferential shares to two or three private equity players to raise Rs 600 crore in the next six to eight weeks, said Mr Nair.
It will sell its business parks in Chennai and Bangalore in the next two to three months. It will also build upmarket residential complexes in Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
The asset sales are expected to bring in Rs 950 crore, according to Mr Nair. About Rs 400 crore would be raised through Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds in the next five to six years.
The next new Leela Palace launch would be in Chennai before December. In all, the company plans to add 600 additional rooms by the end of this year. At present, it has 1,600 rooms under the Leela portfolio.
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