Unitech to raise funds for hotel projects

New Delhi: Unitech, the country's second largest realty firm, said it will raise funds by divesting equity up to 100 per cent in its hotel projects.

The company is coming up with 10-12 hotels with over 2,000 rooms in the NCR and Kolkata in the first phase. Of the total, six hotels are under construction and one slated to open shortly in Gurgaon.

'We are in advance stage of talks with some private equity firms to raise money in hotel projects. We may also sell 100 per cent stake in hotel projects, if any party is interested,' a company official said.

Ealier in June, Unitech Managing Director Sanjay Chandra had said the company would raise $350 million through private equity this year by diluting 26-40 per cent stake in various hotel projects.

On being asked whether the company still plans to raise $350 million, the official said: 'It may be little less or even more. It is difficult to give any figure as market situation have changed.'

In June, the company had raised $175 million from Lehman Brothers for 50 per cent stake in a commercial project in Mumbai.

The company also plans to build 35 hotels, with about 6,000 rooms in the next five years across the country with an estimated investment of about $1 billion on construction alone, he said.

Unitech's consolidated net profit declined by 12 per cent to Rs 358.92 crore for the July-September quarter versus Rs 410.12 crore in the year-ago period.

Total income also fell marginally to Rs 1,001.45 crore for the quarter under review, from Rs 1,064.25 crore in the same period last fiscal.