Emaar-MGF partners Marriot for luxury hotels

NEW DELHI: Emaar-MGF has signed up with the US-based Marriot group as its partner for the foray in the luxury and business hotel segments. Initially the companies will together develop two properties in Kolkata and Amritsar.

As per the deal, Emaar-MGF will develop a 250-room JW Marriott property, considered the most luxurious brand of the Marriot group, in Kolkata. The project is likely to be functional by 2010.

At present, there are only 39 JW Marriott hotels worldwide. The second property that Emaar-MGF has lined up with the hospitality major is a 150-room business hotel in Amritsar, Courtyard by Marriot. At present, this brand has a presence across 740 properties worldwide.

Emaar-MGF is also giving final touches to a deal for developing super-luxury hotel in Goa. It is understood that hospitality will be an important area of focus for the company, which had entered into a joint-venture with the Accor group, earlier this year, for a chain of budget hotels called Formule 1.

Recently, it also entered into a public private partnership with the Uttarakhand government for developing a 200-room integrated hotel and convention centre in Dehradun. “The idea is to have a presence across the value chain,” a company official told ET.

Till now, Emaar-MGF’s major has been on development in the residential and retail space. In addition to hospitality, the company is now planning to diversify into healthcare, education and infrastructure businesses as well.

To part finance its ongoing projects, Emaar-MGF plans to hit the capital markets to raise about $1.5 billion through an initial public offer (IPO). The company has recently filed its draft prospectus with the market regulator Sebi.