Le Meridien hotel in Chennai to become MGM healthcare unit

MGM Healthcare will be the new owner of Appu Hotels, part of the hospitality chain Le Meridien. The transaction is pegged at Rs 423 crore, as per reports, after the Chennai division bench I of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved it.

The NCLT routed deal comes after the bench dismissed a petition filed by the original promoters led by Palani G Periasamy under section 12A of the IBC that permits the adjudicating authority to allow withdrawal of application with 90 per cent voting approval by creditors.

In 2020, the NCLT had taken cognizance of an insolvency petition against Appu Hotels after a case was filed by the Tourism Finance Corporation of India Ltd. As per a media report, the dues of secured financial creditors run up to Rs 340.43 crore while that of unsecured financial creditors amount to Rs 49.13 crore.

The plan is to convert the Le Meridien hotel in Chennai into a healthcare unit while the other hotel in Coimbatore may continue to function in its present form, says another media report.

MK Rajagopalan, founder of MGM Healthcare, is an educationalist as well.