Indian Hotels Co. Ltd. (NYSE: INDHOTEL) bid $1.2 billion for all of the outstanding shares of Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. (NYSE: OEH).

Orient Express received an unsolicited offer from Mumbai-based Indian Hotels, which already owns a 6.9 percent stake in the company. According to the proposal letter, Indian Hotels says it secured the money to close the transaction, which is currently valued at $12.63 per share, and hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch as its financial adviser. Shearman & Sterling LLP is handling legal matters.

Orient-Express, based in Hamilton, Bermuda, owns and operates luxury hotels, tourist train rides and restaurants, including the 21 Club in Manhattan (pictured).

Indian Hotels is the hotel operating company of the Tata group of companies, an Indian conglomerate that runs Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces and has about $100 billion in revenue in 2011.

Shares of Orient-Express closed at $9.02 yesterday, and are traded at a high of $12.71 on the day of the announcement.

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