Omaxe in talks with Starwood

Delhi-based realty firm plans to invest a total of Rs 2,000 crore in hotel projects.

Omaxe is in talks with US-based Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide for its hotel projects, Chairman of Delhi-based realty firm Rohtas Goel said today.

"The talks with Starwood could be related to a management contract, or they may take a small equity stake in the hotel projects of Omaxe. We are also holding talks with two or three more players for hospitality foray," Goel told NewsWire18 in an interview.

Omaxe, which has so far focused on residential and commercial real estate projects, is planning hotels in 11 cities across India.

These include Jaipur, Lucknow, Indore, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Patiala, Amritsar, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. "Except Ghaziabad, we have acquired land in the other cities for which we have already spent Rs 600 crore," said Goel.

The company plans to invest a total of Rs 2,000 crore in its hotel projects.

He said promoters of Omaxe are mulling dilution of up to 10 per cent stake in the company through private placement of shares. "Funds from stake dilution would be used for buying more land," he said.

Among others, the company is planning a real estate project in Punjab.

"We are planning a Rs 2,000-3,000 crore real estate project in Punjab," he said, but did not disclose any further details. Omaxe is also looking to tap the overseas real estate market. "We are testing the waters in Dubai, and are holding negotiations with local players. We are planning commercial real estate projects in Dubai," Goel said.

It plans to invest Rs 200 crore in Dubai real estate projects. Omaxe has ambitious plans in other infrastructure segments as well.

It had recently bid for Rs 30,000 crore eight-lane Ganga Expressway project in Uttar Pradesh, along with the GVK Group and Nagarjuna Construction. The company has also submitted a bid for Rs 200 crore Udaipur airport modernisation project.

"We will bid for more airport upgradation projects across India," Goel said. Tracing the footsteps of real estate companies such as DLF, Unitech and Parsvnath Developers, Omaxe is also mulling a real estate investment trust.

"We are very serious about a real estate investment trust," he said, adding that As and when we plan to float a REIT, we will list it overseas.

A REIT, similar to a mutual fund, which uses collective funds to own and manage investments in real estate projects. It can be listed and traded on the stock exchanges.

Shares of Omaxe, nearly 42 per cent up since they were listed in August, closed at Rs 547.40 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Tuesday, down 2.62 per cent from its previous close.