The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Tuesday authorised Warburg Pincus' proposal to mop up stake in Lemon Tree Hotels' subsidiary, Fleur Hotels Ltd.
This developmet happened after Lemon Tree Hotels, in January 2026, approved the private equity giant to buy APG Strategic Real Estate Pool NV's 41.09% stake in its arm Fleur Hotels, as well as an offer for an investment of Rs 960 crore in tranches.
The competition regulator also gave the go-ahead for the internal restructuring of Lemon Tree Hotels Ltd group via amalgamation and demerger.
"The proposed combination involves the acquisition of certain equity shares by Coastal Cedar Investments BV (Coastal) in Fleur Hotels Ltd (FHL) and internal restructuring of Lemon Tree Hotels Ltd (LTH) group through amalgamation and demerger," CCI said in a release.
Coastal is an investment holding company and is wholly owned and managed by the US-based Warburg Pincus Group, while Lemon Tree Hotels is a hospitality company.
Lemon Tree will merge two of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Carnation Hotels and Hamstede Living, with itself, in accordance with the scheme. Four other , wholly-owned subsidiaries of the hospitality firm, Oriole Dr Fresh, Sukhsagar Complexes, Manakin Resorts and Canary Hotels , are set to be mergeg with Fleur against the issuance of shares by Fleur to Lemon Tree.
"CCI approves acquisition of certain equity shares by Coastal Cedar Investments BV in Fleur Hotels Ltd and internal restructuring of Lemon Tree Hotels Ltd group through amalgamation and demerger," the regulator said in a post on X.
Fleur Hotels is a subsidiary of LTH, which owns and leases hotels directly and through its subsidiaries.
Ila Dubey, Lillette Dubey, Spank Management Services Pvt Ltd, and Sparrow Buildwell Pvt Ltd are promoters or part of the promoter group of Lemon Tree Hotels.
In January 2026, Lemon Tree stated that its strategic reorganisation, along with Warburg's investment in Fleur, is aimed at unlocking long-term value for shareholders by establishing two focused, high-growth, and scalable platforms.
The proposed restructure will result in two distinct yet complementary entities: Lemon Tree Hotels, positioned as a pure-play, asset-light hotel management and brand platform, and Fleur Hotels, envisioned as a large-scale, growth-driven hotel ownership platform with strong development capabilities and a robust pipeline.
This investment marks a renewed partnership between Warburg and Lemon Tree, following Warburg's earlier investment in the company in 2006, which supported the latter's initial growth.
The scheme will also result in a listing of Fleur's shares on NSE and BSE. Patanjali Govind Keswani, Founder of Lemon Tree Hotels, will serve as the Executive Chairman of Fleur Hotels and will eventually transition to a Non-Executive role at Lemon Tree.
Post the transaction, Fleur will become one of the largest owners of hospitality assets in India. Its owned portfolio will expand significantly, increasing from 3,993 keys and 24 operating hotels to 5,813 keys across 41 hotels, Lemon Tree said.
Deals beyond a certain threshold require approval from the regulator, which keeps a tab on unfair business practices as well as promotes fair competition in the marketplace.
(With PTI Inputs)
ALSO READ: Lemon Tree Hotels Announces Reorganisation With Warburg Pincus; Fleur To Be Listed Separately
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