In a market that recently has seen little capital activity, SAMHI Hotels Pvt. Ltd. has new funds to accelerate its expansion in India after announcing on Tuesday that it has received a significant minority investment of 4.4 billion rupees (US$66 million) from global investment bank Goldman Sachs. Indian hotel stocks rallied 19% on the bourses after the news was made public.
“On the back of reform momentum, India is witnessing a steady recovery in economic activity driven by domestic demand,” said Sonjoy Chatterjee, chairman of Goldman Sachs India. “We anticipate this to lead to an upturn in the hotel sector.”
Established in 2011, SAMHI Hotels specializes in development, acquisition and ownership of branded hotels in prime markets and locations throughout India. Partnering financially with global hotel groups such as Marriott and Accor, and operators such as Starwood Hotels and Hyatt International, SAMHI Hotels owns 16 properties operating under brands that include Courtyard by Marriott, Hyatt Place, Fairfield by Marriott, Four Points by Sheraton and Formule 1 as of December 2015.
Today, 10 additional hotels are under advance stages of development and are due to open in the next 12 to 18 months, which will equal a collective nationwide footprint of 26 hotels with 3,900 rooms under five brands in 12 cities.
SAMHI, co-founded by Ashish Jakhanwala and Manav Thadani with shareholders that include Sam Zell’s Equity International, GTI Capital Group and IFC (member of the World Bank Group), most recently acquired its third hotel in Ahmedabad from Sidhi Gujarat Hospitality for a reported US$20 million and is in discussions to re-brand the property.