Khazanah dismisses talk of Aman stake buy

Malaysia’s investment arm Khazanah has dismissed a report that it will buy a controlling stake in Aman Resorts from India’s DLF for up to US$350 million, state news agency Bernama reported late yesterday.

Bernama cited a statement from Khazanah as saying that it was in talks with various companies including Aman Resorts on possible ventures and that a report in India’s Economic Times was “purely speculative and misleading.”

Khazanah was not immediately available for comment.

The Economic Times yesterday cited a person privy to the negotiations as saying that Goldman Sachs is advising DLF and JP Morgan is acting for Khazanah on a deal that may not include Aman’s New Dehli property.

A luxury hotel chain, Aman Resorts runs more than 20 properties in countries including Thailand, Bhutan, China, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

Khazanah entered into an agreement with Aman Resorts in 2007 to develop a hotel in the Iskandar development region in Malaysia’s southern Johor state, but there have been no details on the project that was due to be completed last year. -- Reuters