The Oberoi Group has invested Rs 400 crore in its latest luxury hotel in Gurgaon. Spread across nine acre, the launch of the new property was overshadowed by speculations on who will succeed the 82-year old hotelier PRS Oberoi, or Biki as he is called by friends. CNBC-TV18's Nayantara Rai visited the new Oberoi Gurgaon and here's what she found.
I'm at the new Oberoi in Gurgaon. The Oberoi Group says this 202-room hotel will redefine luxury hospitality but the launch was hijacked by the group's succession plans. Chairman PRS Oberoi did not attend the press conference. However, he did issue a press statement referring to a recent newspaper article quoting him as saying his son Voikram Oberoi would be the successor. He described the article as creating an erroneous impression. Now Vikram Oberoi and his cousin and PRS Oberois nephew Arjun Oberoi were asked several questions on this. But they said whatever had to be said was said by the chairman in the statement.
The Oberoi duo also did not answer any questions on Reliance Industries buying into the company with a stake just shy of the 15% threshold that triggers an open-offer. Instead they chose to focus on the new Oberoi Gurgaona property that took four years to build. The new property is next door to the Trident Gurgaon. While the two hotels are interconnected, what the Oberois are really proud off is the size of the new roomsstarting at 620 sq ft and termed as one of the largest globally for a standard room.
The company recently raised nearly Rs 1100 crore via a rights issue. Arjun Oberoi says a majority of this ie Rs 900 crore will be used to retire debt. A part of the proceeds will also be used to expand in flight kitchen operations. Also on the cards are acquisitions in US and Europe. Arjun Oberoi described some assets available as trophies but at the right price. But then Reliance Industries being on board with less than 15% stake could come in handy as financial muscle.
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