Singapore’s GIC Buying 35% Stake in Hotel JV With India’s Samhi for $88M

Singapore sovereign giant GIC has agreed to pay INR 7.52 billion ($88.2 million) for a 35 percent stake in a new investment platform for upscale hotel assets in India.

The partnership with Samhi Hotels Ltd is acquiring a seed portfolio of five Samhi-owned assets in Pune and Bengaluru valued at INR 22 billion, Samhi said Thursday in a release. The portfolio comprises more than 1,000 rooms in high-density office districts with favourable demand growth and high barriers to entry for new supply, the Gurugram-based asset manager said.

The investment by the $801 billion Singaporean fund will be used for capital expenditure, future acquisitions and to reduce leverage across hotels, with Samhi to manage all operational and development assets in the platform, according to the BSE- and NSE-listed group. GIC declined to comment on the deal when contacted by Mingtiandi.

“We are pleased to announce this transformational partnership with GIC,” said Samhi CEO and managing director Ashish Jakhanwala. “We have a strong track record in the hotel sector in India and GIC brings unparalleled institutional capabilities for us to benefit from. In addition to helping us strengthen our balance sheet, this partnership gives us tremendous firepower to grow our portfolio.”

Marquee Brands

Samhi’s portfolio of 31 operating hotels comprises 4,823 rooms in 13 Indian cities, including the Delhi National Capital Region, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune. The group has long-term management deals with international heavyweights Marriott, IHG and Hyatt.

The seed assets for the GIC JV include a Hyatt Regency in Pune with 230 guest rooms, 71 serviced apartments and 22 upcoming residences, as well as a dual-branded complex in Bengaluru with a 170-room Courtyard by Marriott and a 166-room Fairfield by Marriott.

The platform is also acquiring Bengaluru’s 142-room Trinity Hotel, which is to be rebranded and converted into part of an under-development 220-room hotel under Marriott’s Westin brand.

After reporting net debt of INR 20.6 billion at the end of calendar 2024, Samhi expects the figure to drop to INR 14.7 billion upon the transaction’s closing, with the ratio of net debt to EBITDA seen easing from 4.9 to 3.5, the company said in a presentation.

Incorporated in 2010 with backers including Sam Zell-led Equity International, Delhi-based GTI Capital and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, Samhi listed on the BSE and NSE in 2023 with a INR 13.7 billion IPO. GIC is one of Samhi’s biggest equity investors with a shareholding of 7.95 percent, according to the company’s most recent annual report.

The Singaporean giant previously set up a $600 million India hospitality joint venture with Tata Group’s IHCL, aiming to acquire fully operational luxury and upscale hotels, but GIC has yet to disclose any purchases since the tie-up was announced in 2019.

Others Checking In

Another deep-pocketed global investor, US-based Blackstone, is making its own bet on India hotel growth with Ventive Hospitality, which raised INR 16 billion ($190 million) late last year from an IPO for the platform’s 2,036-key portfolio of hotels nationwide and in the Maldives.

A Blackstone fund acquired a half-stake in Ventive in 2017, with entities of the private equity titan now holding a 36.22 percent interest in the company.

Hilton Hotels and Resorts also continues to grow its India footprint, with the US hotel giant announcing in February that it would open 75 Hampton by Hilton hotels in the world’s most populous country under a licensing agreement with Nile Hospitality.

The expansion will bring Hampton by Hilton locations to the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Bihar, after Hilton last year agreed to introduce 150 premium-economy Spark by Hilton hotels to India through a partnership with Olive by Embassy.