Oberoi Cons may buy The Beach in Goa

The Indian Hotel Company Ltd’s (IHCL) five-star spa resort Taj Exotica Goa may witness some serious competition in the vicinity.
Vikas Oberoi, managing director of Mumbai-based Oberoi Constructions is believed to be in the process of acquiring The Beach, a hotel site adjacent to the Taj in southwest Goa.

State Bank of India (SBI) had appropriated the hotel from its unknown promoters for non-payment of dues to the tune of Rs 38-odd crore. The Indian PSU is believed to have put the hotel site on auction to recover its money.

“Being a very prominent site in south Goa and its proximity to Taj, the hotel has received a very good response during the auction. Oberoi Constructions, however, has managed to bag it, though the deal size is unknown,” said a source close to this development.

The source estimated the deal to be between Rs 60-100 crore, given the nature of the asset- a non performing asset (NPA) for its lender SBI.

Oberoi, however, when contacted, refrained from commenting on this subject. He said the company continuously looks for good deals and will make it public when they close on any acquisitions.

The realty firm has also filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Sebi and is looking to raise over Rs 1,200 crore through an initial public offering (IPO) which is expected to hit the market very soon.

As for the Goa site, it was earlier managed by the Clarion brand, who lost it owing to poor standards of maintenance and service.