Firm Matters
Khaitan & Co advised Concept Hospitality Private Limited (CHPL) on the signing of definitive documents with a group company of Marriott International, Inc. (Marriott), to enter into a strategic partnership with Marriott, whereby CHPL’s flagship brand of hotels – The Fern, The Fern Residency and The Fern Habitat – will be affiliated with Marriott’s newly launched regional collection brand – ‘Series by Marriott™’. Marriott has also agreed to make a small equity investment in CHPL.
Established in 1996 by Param Kannampilly, CHPL is one of India's leading hotel management companies with a portfolio of 6 brands and over 100 hotels operating in 90 locations. The Fern portfolio (consisting of The Fern, The Fern Residency, and The Fern Habitat) is currently comprised of 84 open properties and 31 executed pipeline deals, totalling 115 properties and approximately 8,000 rooms. CHPL’s Fern properties are expected to join Marriott's portfolio in India over time following discussions with the third-party hotel owners and execution of long-term franchise agreements with such owners. CG Hospitality, the hospitality division of the multi-national conglomerate CG Corp Global, is the majority stakeholder in CHPL.
Deal Team

The core team consisted of Purti Minawala (Partner), Megha Agarwal (Partner), Sayani Bhattacharyya (Senior Associate), Farhan Ali (Senior Associate), Priya Maharishi (Associate) and Amaan Ahmed (Associate).
The deal was assisted by:
Direct Tax: Sneh Shah (Partner), Vinita Krishnan (Executive Director - Direct Tax , Anuraag Bukkapatnam (Associate)
Indirect Tax: Mayank Jain (Partner), Pranay Sahay (Principal Associate)
Corporate and Commercial: Supratim Chakraborty (Partner) and Shramana Dwibedi (Senior Associate)