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Sahara seals 5,500 cr debt deal
Sahara seals 5,500 cr debt deal. In a major deal for Saharas, billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben have acquired controlling stake in the crisis-hit Indian group\'s iconic Grosvenor House hotel here and the two US properties -- Plaza and Dream Downtown -- in a $850 million (Rs 5,500 crore) debt refinance deal, says a media report on Sunday.
London: In a major deal for Saharas, billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben have acquired controlling stake in the crisis-hit Indian group's iconic Grosvenor House hotel here and the two US properties -- Plaza and Dream Downtown -- in a $850 million (Rs 5,500 crore) debt refinance deal, says a media report on Sunday. There was no official word from Sahara Group on this and the emailed queries in this regard remained unanswered.
Reuben brothers "have taken control of the Grosvenor House in London and two other luxury hotels in New York through $850 mn debt deal," the Sunday Times reported. It further said "David and Simon Reuben, whose empire stretches from data centres to horse racing, clinched the purchase of two loans against the properties from Bank of China late last week" and they have given a four-month extension to the Sahara Group. The Grosvenor House hotel was put on sale by its lender Bank of China earlier this year after a 'technical default'.
Sahara Group has been trying to raise funds to secure release of its chief Subrata Roy, who has been lodged in Tihar Jail for over a year, through monetisation of its various assets including the three overseas hotels. Bank of China put Grosvenor House under "administration" early in March for recovery of its loans, while Deloitte and realty consultant JLL were mandated to find a buyer.
The loan on Sahara's three hotels from Bank of China was "cross collateralized and cross guaranteed". Sahara had said that the debt servicing for the UK and US loans "has always been completely proper and timely". Grosvenor House, a landmark property on Park Lane here that was designed by acclaimed architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, was purchased by Saharas in 2010. The two hotels in the US were purchased later.
The three hotels were acquired between 2010 and 2012 at an estimated value of $1.55 bn. The group has been engaged in a legal battle with Indian markets regulator Sebi for a long time over a case involving raising of funds from investors to the tune of over Rs 24,000 crore. Sahara, however, claims it has already repaid 95 per cent of the investors money directly.
