Indian Hotels Company Ltd And Charme II Fund Acknowledge Announcement By Orient-Express Hotels Ltd.

MUMBAI, India, Nov. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Indian Hotels Company Ltd ("Indian Hotels") and Montezemolo & Partners on behalf of Charme II Fund today acknowledged the recent announcement by Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. (NYSE: OEH) ("Orient-Express"), and are reviewing the position taken by the Orient-Express Board and considering their options with respect to their offer to acquire Orient-Express.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is serving as sole financial advisor to Indian Hotels, Shearman & Sterling LLP is serving as legal advisor to Indian Hotels, and Hotel Advisor (UK) Ltd is providing industry expertise for the proposed transaction.

About The Indian Hotels Company Ltd
Indian Hotels is the hotel operating company of the Tata group.  Indian Hotels and its subsidiaries, collectively known as Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, comprising of 99 hotels in 56  locations across India with an additional 16 international hotels  including such iconic hotels as The Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai, The Pierre Hotel in New York City and The Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur. 

About Charme Funds
Charme II Fund was established by the Montezemolo family, and is managed by Montezemolo & Partners S.p.A, to make investments in leading companies with strong ties to Italy.  Montezemolo & Partners was founded by Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, one of Italy's most prominent businessmen who serves as Chairman of Ferrari S.p.A. as well as Vice Chairman of UniCredit.  The Montezemolo and Charme Group are renowned in Italy and abroad as reputable investors in leading luxury group companies.   In their current portfolio there is, among other investments,  Poltrona Frau Group, world leader in high end furniture and design, representing the three main high end furniture companies in Italy such as Poltrona Frau, Cassina and Cappellini.  Poltrona Frau Group has been listed by the Montezemolo Group in 2006 at the Milan Stock Exchange and is already a partner of Tata Sons in Casa Decor, a joint venture company, established in 2008 to expand and promote the Poltrona Frau Group brands in India.

Forward Looking Statements
The statements included in this press release regarding a possible transaction among Indian Hotels, Charme II Fund and Orient-Express, including the timing thereof, regulatory approvals, the likelihood that either such transaction could be consummated and other statements that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements.  These statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, actions by regulatory authorities, market conditions, Orient-Express's financial results and performance, consummation of financing, satisfaction of closing conditions and actions by any other bidder.  Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize (or the consequences of such a development worsen), or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those forecasted or expected.  Indian Hotels disclaims any intention or obligation to update publicly or revise such forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, and therefore, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to today.

SOURCE The Indian Hotels Company Ltd