PETALING JAYA (The Star/Asia News Network) - Real estate tycoon Asok Kumar Hiranandani of Singapore-based Royal Group has bought DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur from a private real estate fund managed by BlackRock.

Royal Group Holdings, a property group which leans more towards the hospitality sector, bought the 540-room, four-star hotel for RM388 million (S$144.85 million), a source from Royal Group said.

A hotel employee said the hotel generally had an occupancy rate of 75 per cent.

According to the Royal Group website, the company was established in 1947 and its main business is in the development and management of real estate. Its portfolio includes a wide range of residential, industrial and commercial properties that include offices, malls and hotels with assets scattered in different parts of the world.

Asok, chairman of the Royal Group, was ranked 20th among Singapore's top-50 richest, with a net worth of US$1.4 billion by Forbes last year.

DoubleTree is part of The Intermark development which also comprises office blocks Integra Tower and the Vista Tower and the Intermark Mall. All four parcels were put up for sale about a year or more ago, but it was only last week that the 39-storey Integra office block was sold to Retirement Fund Inc, also known as Kumpulan Wang Persaraan, for RM1.065 billion.

The mixed integrated development is located at the Jalan Ampang-Jalan Tun Razak intersection in the city.

Negotiations are ongoing with local and foreign parties for the other two parcels, Vista Tower and the Intermark Mall, sources said.