Unitech to finalise buyer for Gurgaon hotel

Mumbai: Unitech, the country's second largest property developer, is expected to finalise a buyer for its hotel property in Gurgaon in the next two weeks, a company official said.

The company expects to earn around Rs 300 crore from the sale of the 200-room budget hotel Courtyard by Marriott ahead of its inauguration in January 2009.

Unitech denied reports that the Hinduja Group and Arvind Dham, chairman and managing director of auto parts maker Amtek Auto, were in the race to buy the hotel. 'They are not in the fray. We are in talks with others,'' said the executive, without naming the prospective buyers.

Unitech is selling its hotels and office properties to repay its debt. The company's total debt rose to Rs 8,000 crore in the quarter ended September 2008 and has to repay a short-term debt of Rs 2,700 crore by March 2009.

Unitech is also in discussions with prospective buyers for its 225,000-sq ft office in Saketh and expects to finalise the deal in the next few weeks, the official said. A part of the property may also be leased, the official said. The company hopes to earn Rs 500 crore from the sale of the office property.

'Different parties have expressed interests in different floors of the building. We will decide soon whether to lease or go for outright sale,'' he said.

Unitech Chairman Ramesh Chandra recently said that the company would raise around Rs 1,500 crore from the sale of hotels and commercial space. Besides, it will transfer Rs 1,200 crore of debt to its telecom joint venture and will also realise Rs 300 crore as debt repayment from the joint venture. Unitech had lent Rs 820 crore to the joint venture and given a guarantee of another Rs 1,200 crore.

'By January, Unitech will raise Rs 2,500 crore through these routes,' Chandra said. The company has also decided to sell its plots to schools and hospitals. The company has around 27 plots, mostly of five acres each, and another 15 plots earmarked for hospitals.

Unitech is aiming to divest three of its hotel projects that are nearing completion.