Will bid for Taj Mansingh if it is auctioned: Sahara India

Subrato Roy, head of the Sahara Group, today said that they will make a bid for the Taj Mansingh Hotel if it is put up for sale.

Sahara India recently forayed into the New York hospitality scene, after it acquired the iconic Plaza Hotel and an 85% stake in Dream Downtown. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Roy said that the price of the Plaza was USD 575 million, and for Dream Downtown was USD 220 million. He goes on to say that they have no plans for an initial public offer at the moment. This announcement comes hot on the heels of an earlier statement today, where Roy announced the group’s foray into the retail business. Below is an edited transcript of his interview with Rituparna Bhyuan. Subrato Roy: It is true that we have already finished New York. We have paid money and only due diligence is going on. By September 15 we will take over Plaza, and after there is Dream. The Plaza cost USD 575 million and the price of Dream USD is 220 million. Q: What about Taj Mansingh, are you confident of getting RoFR? A: I am not at all confident of getting because that doesn’t depend on me. But we are definitely going to bid for it. Q: What can you tell about your IPO plans? A: It is not in my mind also. We are not going in for an IPO for money. It is just Rs 3000 crore, so we are not going for that. Idea was that we are not listed, people used to say we don’t know about you etc. So we decided to go for an IPO because then there will be some statement every quarter Q: Are the IPO plans off or are they still on the table? A: IPO plans at the moment are off because now we will not go for that small amount.