Hotel Leelaventure zooms on the buzz of selling prime properties in Delhi and Chennai

Hotel Leela Venture is currently trading at Rs. 20.95, up by 2.80 points or 15.43% from its previous closing of Rs. 18.15 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 18.15 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 21.25 and Rs. 18.15 respectively. So far 1652586 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 22.00 on 25-May-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 14.00 on 21-Nov-2013. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 21.25 and Rs. 17.15 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 932.58 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 62.71% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 6.35% and 30.95% respectively. In a bid to pare debt, Hotel Leelaventure is reportedly in talks with sovereign wealth funds of Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Malaysia to sell its prime properties in Delhi and Chennai for around Rs 1,850 crore. The company, which owns, operates and manages hotels, palaces and resorts, is likely to hive-off the two properties into separate entities. While the foreign investor may pick up 74% interest in the hived-off entities, Leelaventure will retain 26% stake and continue to manage the five-star hotels. Hotel Leelaventure operates hotels and resorts in India. It also operates spas; and offers facilities for meetings and events, weddings, and social celebrations. The company’s portfolio includes luxury hotels and resorts primarily in Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa, Kovalam, Gurgaon, and Udaipur.