Indian hotels to buy Hotel Campton Place

In a bid to expand its presence in the US market, Indian Hotels Co, operator of Taj hotels, resorts and palaces on Tuesday said it will acquire US-based Hotel Campton Place for around Rs 264 crore ($ 60 million).

The acquisition cost includes estimated transaction costs and the Hotel is intended to be acquired in partnership with financial investors, Indian Hotels informed the bourses.

Hotel Campton Place is a 110-room luxury boutique hotel situated in Union Square in the heart of a Gateway city, San Francisco, on the West Coast of the US.

The board of directors of the Indian Hotels Company have approved of the acquisition subject to necessary statutory regulations.

The sale-purchase agreement was signed yesterday and the transaction is scheduled to close on April 30, 2007.

Last year, Indian Hotels had signed an agreement to purchase the Ritz-Carlton Boston for $170 million. In 2005, Taj Hotels entered into a 30-year management contract agreement to operate and manage the Pierre on New York's Fifth Avenue. The lease price was $5 million a year.