NEW YORK— Taj Hotels, Resorts & Palaces is seeking to buy a five-star hotel chain here in the United States, said the company’s managing director, R.K. Krishna Kumar. “It would have to be a small chain, but, yes, we are seeking to buy here in the United States,” he said. Kumar said that Taj is also interested in buying existing luxury assets here, as well, and that the company was nearly successful in buying the Carlyle Hotel here in New York last year. That luxury property subsequently went to Maritz, Wolff & Co. for a reported $130 million. Kumar’s geographical wish list for hotel purchases in the United States are New York and San Francisco, he said. He would then choose between Chicago or Atlanta, he added. The size of the assets would be in the “150-170-key range.” Kumar said he hopes to have a deal for at least a New York hotel wrapped up by April 2003, which would mark the beginning of the company’s next fiscal year. Taj had a previous presence in the United States, with the Lexington Hotel in New York, as well as a property in Chicago, but those properties were sold because they didn’t fit the profile of product they now have in their portfolio. Kumar noted that since September 11 he hasn’t seen a dramatic reduction in the cost of hotels, despite the downturn. “I haven’t seen a significant drop in the price of assets,” he said. While the company would prefer to buy existing properties in this country, it will consider new builds as it expands globally, including in Bali or Phuket, Thailand. The company is also considering buying a half-finished hotel in Southeast Asia, which it could complete according to Taj’s design specifications. If the Bombay-based company doesn’t find an acquisition in this country right away, it will have another major project to keep it busy: Taj last year signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of India to help restore the Taj Mahal Monument in Agra. The agreement is significant in that Taj is the only private-sector participant to be involved in the project. It also marks a key turning point for Taj Hotels, which 100 years ago opened its first hotel in Bombay, called the Taj Mahal Hotel. Through the agreement with the government, the hotel company will participate in a number of project components that include restoring the actual 350-year-old Taj Mahal monument, as well as its ancillary structures, its gardens, its museums and visitor center. Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces is today comprised of 50 hotels in 34 locations throughout India; it has an additional 12 properties in nine destinations outside of India.
The Taj Mahal Hotel Mumbai