Lemon Tree to launch IPO on March 26

Delhi based hotel chain company Lemon Tree is set to launch its initial public offer worth Rs. 1,000 crore on March 26, 2018 for subscription. The IPO of 18,54,79,400 equity shares will have a price band of Rs. 54-56 per share, as announced by the company. 
  
The offer for sale of 185 million shares will make 23.59 per cent of the equity share capital of the company. With the launch of the IPO, the company’s private equity investor Warburg Pincus will offload about half of its stake in the company. However, the promoter entity of the company will not dilute its stakes.  
  
Lemon Tree Hotels, operating through 45 properties, is the largest mid-market hotel brand in India. The brand is spread across 28 cities and has a room inventory of about 4700 rooms. The company’s other brands include Red Fox (budget) and Lemon Tree Premier (upper mid-scale) along with Lemon Tree (mid-scale). 

The company had posted an increase of 12.99 per cent in its income to Rs. 4,181.36 million in the fiscal year 2017 from Rs. 3,700.74 million in the fiscal year 2016. Its restated loss decreased by over 75.94 per cent to Rs. 71.70 million in the fiscal year 2017 from Rs. 297.99 million in the previous fiscal year. 

The company has over 3000 rooms under construction which are expected to come up by 2021. The company has several properties and hotels coming up in Pune, Udaipur, Shimla and Kolkata.