Sometimes, timing is everything. Take ITC’s hotels business for instance. The last quarter of FY24 was the best ever for the business. The segment saw revenues of Rs 898 crore, up 15% year-on-year (YoY) and a profit of Rs 267 crore, an increase of 34% YoY. The standout was an improvement in margins, primarily driven by higher revenues per available room. To sum up, it does seem like an appropriate time to demerge the business, a decision that was first made public last July. With ITC’s shareholders giving their go-ahead in early June, it is expected that the new entity will be listed in 15 months.
The contours of the merger will have ITC Hotels issue equity shares to ITC’s shareholders. It will eventually result in 60% being…