Vatika Hotels buys out Goldman Sachs stake worth 300 crore

Vatika Hotels, the hospitality arm of Vatika Group - a Gurgaon based real estate and hospitality major has bought back the remaining shares from US banking group Goldman Sachs and now owns 100 per cent of its equity.

In 2007, Vatika Group had raised Rs 900 crore in the form of equity. Goldman Sachs being the larger investor along with Baer Capital Partners had invested Rs 600 crore in the group. Wachovia Bank had also invested Rs 200 crore along with Zaheer Mauritius that inducted Rs 100 crore, a company release said.

Goldman Sachs further invested Rs 300 crore in Vatika Hotels in the form of CCD (Compulsory Convertible Debenture) which got later translated into equity in 2015.

GIC, a leading global investment entity, had also invested in Vatika Group in 2014 and remains invested in the organisation, the release said.

Gaurav Bhalla, Managing Director, Vatika Hotels said “In the following years, we have rigorous growth plans for all our verticals and aim to issue an IPO by the 3rd quarter of 2018.”

The funds generated would be used to take the advantage of the newly formed Transit Oriented Development (TOD) policy. The company plans to increase the capacity of Westin, Gurugram with 200 more rooms along with additional expansion plans for the Westin resort by 40 keys located in Sohna, both owned by Vatika Group.

Vatika also intends to invest in brownfield projects and are currently seeking opportunities in the market. Additionally, the funds would also be used for the expansion of Vatika Business Centres & Enviro-a premium facility management company.

Vatika Business Centre, a premium business centre service provider, at present, has 15 centres spread across New Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune. It covers over half a million sq. ft. area in the country, facilitating over 5,000 seats with over 1000 seats under development.

VBC aims to open 42 centres by the end of 2020 including going overseas with centres in Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong.

Enviro, a facility management vertical by Vatika with over 18 years of experience currently has presence in National Capital Region, Ambala and Jaipur.

The group also owns Nukkadwala, the newest chain of QSR (Quick Service Restaurants) with currently 10 stores in the National Capital Region and has plans to expand overseas with stores opening in Dubai, London, and New York soon.