DLF to set up 7 hotels in Gujarat

Realty major DLF will be building at least seven hotels in Gujarat. It is believed that of these seven, four will be set up in Ahmedabad, and the rest in Vadodara and Surat.

Sources close to the development said that the proposed hotels will be part of a 74:26 joint venture between DLF and Hilton Hotels Corporation (HHC).

Under the JV, the real estate company will be setting up around 50-75 hotels across the country. DLF had also signed an MoU with the government of Gujarat to develop hotels, IT parks and integrated townships during the Vibrant Gujarat Urban Summit.

However, Y K Tyagi, Executive Director (Offices), who was in Ahmedabad to announce the company's proposal to enter the capital market with an IPO, refused to comment further on the development.

DLF is also believed to be coming up with malls in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat at a project cost of Rs 1,500 crore.

Moreover, the realty company is also setting up 2-3 IT parks in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. Presently, DLF boasts of a land bank of 10,255 acres across the country, with 50 per cent of it being in the NCR.

Meanwhile, the company has proposed to enter the capital market on June 11, 2007, with a public issue of 175 million equity shares of Rs 2 each at a price band of between Rs 500 and Rs 550 per equity share. The issue closes on June 14.

The issue, valued at the higher band at Rs 96.25 billion, will constitute 10.26 per cent of the fully-diluted post-issue capital of the company.

It is also believed that after the issue, termed as the largest in the country, K P Singh, Chairman of DLF may emerge as the richest man in the country, toppling Reliance Industries' Mukesh Ambani. Singh holds more than 80 per cent in the company.