MUMBAI, India, Nov. 8, 2012
/PRNewswire/ -- The Indian Hotels Company Ltd ("Indian Hotels") and
Montezemolo & Partners on behalf of Charme II Fund today
acknowledged the recent announcement by Orient-Express Hotels Ltd.
(NYSE: OEH) ("Orient-Express"), and are reviewing the position taken by
the Orient-Express Board and considering their options with respect to
their offer to acquire Orient-Express.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is serving as sole financial
advisor to Indian Hotels, Shearman & Sterling LLP is serving as
legal advisor to Indian Hotels, and Hotel Advisor (UK) Ltd is providing
industry expertise for the proposed transaction.
About The Indian Hotels Company Ltd
Indian Hotels is the hotel operating company of the Tata
group. Indian Hotels and its subsidiaries, collectively known as Taj
Hotels Resorts and Palaces, comprising of 99 hotels in 56 locations
across India with an additional 16
international hotels including such iconic hotels as The Taj Mahal
Palace in Mumbai, The Pierre Hotel in
New York City and The Taj Lake
Palace in Udaipur.
About Charme Funds
Charme II Fund was established by the Montezemolo family, and
is managed by Montezemolo & Partners S.p.A, to make investments in
leading companies with strong ties to Italy. Montezemolo & Partners
was founded by Luca Cordero di Montezemolo,
one of Italy's most prominent
businessmen who serves as Chairman of Ferrari S.p.A. as well as Vice
Chairman of UniCredit. The Montezemolo and Charme Group are renowned in
Italy and abroad as reputable
investors in leading luxury group companies. In their current portfolio
there is, among other investments, Poltrona Frau Group, world leader in
high end furniture and design, representing the three main high end
furniture companies in Italy such as
Poltrona Frau, Cassina and Cappellini. Poltrona Frau Group has been
listed by the Montezemolo Group in 2006 at the Milan Stock Exchange and
is already a partner of Tata Sons in
Casa Decor, a joint venture company, established in 2008 to expand and
promote the Poltrona Frau Group brands in India.
Forward Looking Statements
The statements included in this press release regarding a
possible transaction among Indian Hotels, Charme II Fund and
Orient-Express, including the timing thereof, regulatory approvals, the
likelihood that either such transaction could be consummated and other
statements that are not historical facts, are forward-looking
statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties including,
but not limited to, actions by regulatory authorities, market
conditions, Orient-Express's financial results and performance,
consummation of financing, satisfaction of closing conditions and
actions by any other bidder. Should one or more of these risks or
uncertainties materialize (or the consequences of such a development
worsen), or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual
outcomes may vary materially from those forecasted or expected. Indian
Hotels disclaims any intention or obligation to update publicly or
revise such forward looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, and therefore, you should not
rely on these forward-looking statements as representing our views as
of any date subsequent to today.
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