ORIGINALLY, six companies were competing to acquire the Guyana Marriott Hotel. However, only two of them have resubmitted their bids, and they have now met the minimum price of US$85 million set by the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).

Previously, the Guyana Government had expressed dissatisfaction with the initial bids received for the purchase of the hotel.

The highest bid among them amounted to only US$65 million, falling short of the government’s expectations. However, with the new bids meeting the desired base price, the process is progressing with the remaining two companies.

A release from NICIL said that on May 2, 2023, all six bidders were contacted and advised that their submitted bids had been rejected. All six bidders were then invited to resubmit a new bid with a minimum bid price.

The submission deadline was set for May 16, 2023, and bidders were instructed to deposit their sealed envelopes containing the bids in the designated tender box at NICIL’s office.

Additionally, NICIL extended an invitation to all bidders to attend the bid opening, which was scheduled to take place at 14:00hrs on Tuesday, in NICIL’s boardroom.

On Tuesday, the bid opening commenced with representatives from one bidder physically present and another attending virtually via Zoom Video Conference. NICIL’s representatives, including Mr. R.K. Sharma, Ms. Arianne McLean, and Mr. Naresh Balkaran, the Manager of Internal Audit and Risk Management, were present to oversee the process.

“The tender box was opened in the presence of all present, and there were two bids contained therein, which were opened and read aloud in the presence of all present. The bidders and their respective bids were recorded, signed, and acknowledged by the present bidders and the representatives of NICIL,” the release said.

X,LLC bided US$90M, while Integrated Group Guyana Inc. submitted US$86.1M
At the last bidding, 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 Guyana Marriott, situated in Kingston, was established in 2015 with a total investment of US$52 million. The funding for the project was secured through a combination of public investments and a syndicated loan worth US$27 million, provided by Republic Bank Ltd.

The government contributed US$30 million to support the venture through the NICIL. The government initially owned the hotel through the Atlantic Hotel Inc. (AHI).

However, in 2017, AHI faced challenges meeting its loan obligations, prompting the government to intervene. Consequently, the government assumed control of the loan by acquiring all shares in AHI.