WITH none of the bids put forward for the purchase of the Guyana Marriott Hotel finding favour with the government, authorities have decided that the property will remain in the government’s holding until such time that “an appropriate offer that merits the true value” of the facility is made.

This was according to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo during his weekly press conference, on Thursday.

He clarified that US$65 million which was the highest bid that the government received for the Hotel was still way off target.

“When we went out to tender we were testing the market. We believe in the government that none of the bids meet our price expectations and, therefore, we will not proceed with any of those bids. The Marriott will remain in the public domain as part of the government until we get an appropriate offer that merits the true value,” Jagdeo said.

He added: “We know what the true value will be in the current context. So that matter should be put to rest that we will not proceed with any of the bids because we believe that they are too low based on the value of that asset and its capacity to earn.”

A total of six bidders had responded to a December 2022 advertisement from the government seeking Expressions of Interest (EOIs) to purchase the government’s shares in Atlantic Hotel Inc. (AHI), a special purpose company established to own the Marriott Hotel.

The highest bid of US$65 million was put forward by investment group X, LLC, whose principal is an Egyptian-born businessman and entrepreneur, Ramy El-Batrawi.

The second highest bid of US$55.5 million came from local hotelier, Robert Badal, owner of the Pegasus Suites and Corporate Centre, located a few doors down from the Marriott.

Of the other bids, Integrated Group Guyana Limited, a local consortium headed by Ravindra Prashad offered US$55 million, and a US$50 million offer was submitted by Mustafa Eray Kanmaz, General Manager of Georgetown Investments and Management Services Inc.— the company that owns the Ramada Hotel,

There was also a bid of US$33 million from NCB Capital Markets Limited, a Jamaican Company headed by Steve Gooding, while Muneshwers Limited, owned by Amarnauth Muneshwer had the lowest bid of US$25 million.

Located in Kingston, the US$52 million Guyana Marriott, which opened in 2015, was funded through public investments and a US$27 million syndicated loan from Republic Bank Ltd.
The government invested US$30 million through the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), and owned the hotel via AHI. In 2017, as AHI encountered difficulties in servicing the loan, the government took over the loan, buying over all shares in AHI.