Silverlink Resorts, the hospitality arm of real estate major DLF Ltd, has paid $33.80 million (around Rs 153 crore) to settle a dispute with certain overseas investors, DLF has revealed in its annual report for 2010-11.
This could help DLF divest stake in its ultra-luxury hotel chain Aman Resorts, minus the Aman Lodhi in Delhi it wants to retain. To reduce its Rs 24,000-crore debt, DLF planned to divest its non-core assets, including the hospitality business and had appointed advisers for the same, DLF officials had said in a conference call with analysts on May 26.
In 2007, DLF had bought 97 per cent stake in Silverlink Holdings for $400 million from its founder Adrian Zecha, who owns the remaining three per cent.
Aman Resorts, owned by Silverlink Holdings, has 23 hotels across 12 countries, patronised by the super-rich. Its portfolio includes the Aman Lodhi, a 68-room hotel in central Delhi that was opened in 2009.
Some previous shareholders of Silverlink Resorts (formerly Silverlink Holding Ltd) had filed a case in the Singapore High Court to repurchase convertible securities held by them in exchange for secured convertible notes to be issued by Silverlink. These claims originated in the years prior to DLF’s acquisition of Silverlink.
“Following the judgments of the High Court of Singapore dated April 26, 2010 and August 26, 2010 in this suit, the company preferred to challenge the judgment and initiated legal proceedings,” DLF said in the report.
