Raimon Increases River Stake

Raimon Land Plc has acquired an additional 25% stake in Taksin Hotel Holding Co, the developer of The River condominium, from a unit of the defunct US investment bank Lehman Brothers. The acquisition from Lehman Brothers Bangkok Riverside Development Pte Ltd increases Raimon's holding in the luxury condominium from 60% to 85% shareholding, 74% held directly by the SET-listed developer and 11% through subsidiary Contemporary Property Co. The balance of the shares are held by Raimon Land's two major shareholders, IFA Hotels and Resorts 3 Ltd and Istithmar FZE, both headquartered in Dubai. The transaction is another step in Raimon Land's reorganisation, which includes refinancing of several loans from local and international sources and the reduction of overhead expenses by 40%. The company now would focus on existing projects under construction to ensure timely completion and transfer to buyers, said Raimon CEO Hubert Viriot. As a result of the acquisition, he forecast Raimon's revenue for the next three years would increase from 9 billion baht to 12.75 billion while profit sharing from proceeds on the project would rise by 25%. Raimon has achieved sales of 7.7 billion baht for The River, or around 55% of its overall inventory. The developer has received a syndicated loan of 5 billion baht to support the development of the project, which is scheduled to be completed in 2011. Raimon shares closed unchanged yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 32 satang, in trade worth 3.73 million baht.