The Tata Group-led Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) will acquire a stake of 51% each in ANK Hotels and Pride Hospitality for a total of `204 crore to add 135 midscale properties to its portfolio.
Strategic Acquisition for Midscale Market Dominance
The acquisition is part of IHCL’s plan to nearly double its inventory by the turn of the decade. From a portfolio of nearly 400 hotels, including more than 232 operational properties across multiple brands, the Mumbai-based IHCL aims to have 700 hotels, including 500 operational hotels by the end of FY30.
IHCL’s board on Monday approved a share subscription and purchase agreement and a shareholders’ agreement to acquire around 51% equity stake in both ANK Hotels and Pride Hospitality for Rs 110 crore and Rs 94 crore, respectively. Both the companies have properties running under The Clarks Hotels & Resorts brand.
ANK Hotels has a portfolio of 111 midscale hotels (with 67 hotels in operation) which operates under Clarks Inn, Clarks Inn Suites, Clarks Inn Premier. It had a turnover of Rs 14.32 crore in FY25.
Pride Hospitality has a portfolio of 24 midscale hotels (with 13 hotels in operations) operating under Clarks Safari, Clarks Collection, Clarks Resort brands. It had a turnover of Rs 18.94 crore in FY25.
IHCL’s Ambitious Vision
The company said in a statement shared with the exchanges that the transactions, which are subject to fulfillment of certain conditions, aim to address India’s heterogeneous market landscape and provide deeper geographical penetration across India in the midscale segment.
IHCL also signed a distribution and marketing agreement with Brij Hospitality, which has a portfolio of 19 hotels under the Brij Brand, primarily across India.
Speaking to shareholders virtually at the 124th annual general meeting (AGM), N Chandrasekaran, chairman, IHCL had said that IHCL would consider a capital expenditure of Rs 1,200 crore every year taking the total spend to almost $1 billion in the next five years.
The addition to IHCL’s inventory will see the number of rooms jump to 70,000 by FY30 from over 42,500 at present. The company has properties under Taj, Vivanta, Gateway, Seleqtions, Ginger, Tree of Life, under varying price points.
IHCL’s expansion coincides with growth plans of its rivals like Marriott which has built a pipeline of 112 properties across 17 brands. From 30,000 rooms, Marriott will have 50,000 rooms by the end of FY30, making India its third-biggest market globally after the US and China.