HBI Staff | Mumbai 
According to reports, capital market regulator Sebi gave Samhi Hotels a green signal from to go ahead with their IPO plans. Samhi Hotels, backed by Equity International, Asiya Capital and Goldman Sachs, has received approval from the market watchdog to go public to raise around Rs 1,400 crore.
The company refiled the draft papers in March for raising funds through an initial public offering (IPO). It had filed the IPO papers for the first time in September 2019 to raise around Rs 2,000 crore. But the issue fell through because of the Covid outbreak early in 2020.
As per the draft papers, Samhi Hotels proposed an IPO comprising a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 1,000 crore and an Offer For Sale (OFS) of 90 lakh equity shares by existing shareholders.
The OFS consists of the sale of 42.36 lakh equity shares by Blue Chandra Pte Ltd, up to 24.78 lakh equity shares by Goldman Sachs Investments Holdings (Asia) Ltd, up to 15.47 lakh equity shares by GTI Capital Alpha Pvt Ltd, and up to 7.39 lakh equity shares by International Finance Corporation
Privately held Samhi Hotels has received the observation letter from the Sebi on August 31. In Sebi parlance, the observation issued over the draft offer document means the company can launch its proposed initial share sale.
The prominent branded hotel ownership and asset management platform will use fresh issue proceeds mainly for repaying debts amounting to Rs 750 crore, and the remaining for general corporate purposes, while the OFS money will go to selling shareholders.
Samhi Hotels has built a portfolio of 3,839 keys across 25 operating hotels in 12 major urban consumption centres, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, National Capital Region, Pune, Chennai and Ahmedabad, as of February 28, 2023.
It acquires or builds primarily business hotels, and takes steps to further upgrade properties and engage with established branded hotel operators to allow the hotels to be appropriately positioned within the market. Subsequently, it deploys in-house and proprietary asset management tools and capabilities to further enhance the ongoing financial and operational performance of the property.
JM Financial, and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company are the merchant bankers to the issue.
