Taj checks into California

The Taj Group of Hotels has bought the Hotel Campton Place in San Francisco - its first on the West Coast, reports CNBC-TV18.

It's another property that will carry the Taj emblem. The Campton Place is a 95-year-old, 110-room standalone boutique luxury hotel in San Francisco that will now belong to the Taj. Taj has tied up with investors to acquire it for USD 60 million. The transaction is expected to be complete by April 30.

This will be the Taj's third acquistion in the US after the Pierre in New York and Ritz Carton in Boston. The hotel fits in with the Taj strategy of being in the luxury segment in international markets. This would be the Taj's fourth overseas acquistion in the past two years.

The group's target has been to add about 10 properties internationally this year either through acquistions or management control or by building them itself. So we understand that Taj might buy another property in the US soon. It is, after all, an acquisition with a view to the future.