EIH Limited | The Oberoi Group

History

Late Mr. Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi founded the Oberoi Group by acquisition of two Clarke Hotel one located in Shimla and other in Delhi in 1934. The Company was incorporated as a public limited company in India on 26 May 1949 and its initial business activity was as the lessee and operator of The Oberoi Palace Hotel in Srinagar, Kashmir. The equity shares of the Company were first listed on the BSE in 1956. In 1965, we built our first hotel, The Oberoi Intercontinental, now known as The Oberoi, New Delhi, and in 1957, we started our flight services business. On 9 September 1968, The Associated Hotels of India Limited and Hotels (1938) Private Limited merged into the Company pursuant to which our Company acquired five hotels including, The Oberoi Grand in Kolkata, The Maidens Hotel in Delhi and The Oberoi Cecil, Shimla. In 1973, we commenced operations at the Oberoi Towers in Mumbai and subsequently expanded our operations from the five star deluxe segment to - Trident branded hotels which were targeted at business and leisure customers seeking high-quality service at more affordable prices. Between 1986 and 2009, we added nine hotels branded Trident. In 1974, the Company established a printing press in Delhi primarily to ensure supply of high quality guest interactive stationery.

In 1994, we made an offering of GDRs representing equity shares of ' 10 each. The Company�s GDRs are listed on the London Stock Exchange. In 1997, we opened The Oberoi Rajvilas, our first premier leisure hotel targeting the high - income international and domestic leisure traveller. Subsequently, we opened three more such hotels, The Oberoi Vanyavilas and The Oberoi Amarvilas in 2001 and The Oberoi Udayvilas in 2002. We also commenced operations at the Wildflower Hall in Shimla in 2001.

In 2004, we entered into a strategic arrangement with Hilton for the international marketing and handling of reservations of the "Trident" hotels. As part of this arrangement, all the "Trident" hotels were re-branded as "Trident Hilton", and the Oberoi Towers in Mumbai was re-branded as the Hilton Towers. In April 2008, this alliance ended and the "Trident" Hilton hotels and the Hilton Towers hotel were renamed "Trident" hotels.

In April 2005, Indus Hotels Corporation Limited, a 50% joint venture between us and the R. Raheja Group, merged with our associate company, EIH Associated Hotels Limited, to achieve a balanced portfolio of business and leisure properties by creating a single entity focused primarily on the five star segment. The merger resulted in our Company holding approximately 36% of the equity of EIH Associated Hotels Limited. Effective 1 April 2006, The Oberoi Cecil, Shimla and the Trident Bhubaneshwar were transferred from us to EIH Associated Hotels Limited.

In 2006, we acquired a 66.67% equity stake in Mercury Car Rentals Limited, a joint venture with Avis Europe for car rental business. In June 2010, EIH International Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of our Company completed an acquisition of approximately 46% of the equity interest of Amex Investment Limited, in its international hotels joint venture company EIH Holdings Ltd. Pursuant to this acquisition, EIH Holdings Ltd is now a wholly owned subsidiary of EIH International Ltd.

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Major events in the history of the Company

Year	Major Events
1949	The Company was promoted and incorporated by Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi and Oberoi Hotels (India) Limited, in May 1949.
1956	The equity shares of the Company were first listed on the BSE. Took the Maharaja’s palace in Srinagar, Kashmir on lease and converted it into The Oberoi Palace Hotel.
1957	Started the flight services business.
1965	Commenced operations at The Oberoi Hotel, New Delhi.
1968	By a scheme of merger approved by the Calcutta High Court, The Associated Hotels of India Limited and Hotels (1938) Private Limited merged into the Company. By virtue of the merger, the Company acquired The Oberoi Grand, Kolkata, Maidens Hotel, Delhi, Palm Beach, Gopalpur-on-sea (operation suspended), The Oberoi Cecil, Shimla, The Mount Everest, Darjeeling (operation suspended).
1973	Commenced operations at The Oberoi Towers, Mumbai.
1974	Established a printing press in Delhi primarily for the Company’s in-house needs.
1979	Bonus issue of 1,337,745 new equity shares of the Company of Rs. 10 each in the ratio of one new equity shares for every five equity shares held by the shareholders.
1984	Bonus issue of 4,953,131 new equity shares of the Company of Rs. 10 each in the ratio of two new equity shares for every five equity shares held by the shareholders.
1986	Made a foray into the airport services business by entering into a ten year contract with the International Airport’s Authority to operate all the snack bars and restaurants at the domestic and international terminals in Mumbai.
1992	Bonus issue of 4,720,704 new equity shares of the Company of Rs. 10 each in the ratio of one new equity shares for every five equity shares held by the shareholders.
1994	Listing of GDRs on the London Stock Exchange.
1996	Change of name of the Company from The East India Hotels Limited to EIH Limited. Bonus issue of 17,464,299 new Equity shares of the Company of Rs. 10 each in the ratio of one new equity shares for every two equity shares held by the shareholders.
1997	Commenced operations at The Oberoi Rajvilas in Jaipur, our first luxury leisure hotel in India.
2004	The Company entered into a strategic alliance for international marketing with Hilton International. All the “Trident” Hotels were re-branded as “Trident Hilton”, and the Oberoi Towers in Mumbai was re-branded as the Hilton Towers.
2006	Sub-division of the face value of equity shares from Rs. 10 to Equity Shares of Rs. 2. Bonus issue of 130,984,657 new equity shares of the Company of Rs. 2 each in the ratio of one new equity share for every two equity shares held by the Equity Shareholders. The Company acquired a 66.67% equity stake in Mercury Car Rentals Limited, a joint venture with Avis Europe for car rental business.
	The printing press established by the Company in 1974 was granted permission by the Indian Banks’ Association to print security stationery for banks.
2008	The alliance with Hilton International ended and “Trident Hilton” and the Hilton Towers Hotels were renamed “Trident” Hotels. Establishment of EIH Flight Services Limited, Mauritius as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. Entered into a joint venture agreement with 26% equity interest in L&T Bangalore Airport Hotel Limited for a hotel project near the Bangalore international airport. Terrorist attack at the Trident, Nariman Point and The Oberoi, Mumbai in November, 2008 resulting in interruption in business and closure of both the hotels. The Trident Mumbai re-opened on 21 December, 2008, after the terrorist attack.
2009	Entered into a joint venture agreement with 16% equity interest in Golden Jubilee Hotels Limited for the proposed Oberoi and Trident Hotels in Hyderabad.
2010	The Oberoi, Mumbai re-opens after full renovation subsequent to the terrorist attacks in 2008. EIH International Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company completed an acquisition of approximately 46% of the equity interest in its international hotels joint venture company EIH Holdings Ltd. Pursuant to this acquisition, EIH Holdings Ltd is now a wholly owned subsidiary of EIH International Ltd.