Dusit Thani shares may remain under pressure despite tumbling about 30% this year as the company remained in the red and heirs of the company’s late founder Chanut Piyaoui fought for control of the Thai hotel chain.
Chanin Donavanik and his sisters Sinee Thienprasiddhi and Sunong Salirathavibhaga inherited the bulkd of a 49.7% stake in Dusit Thani after their mother, Chanut, a pioneer in the That hospitality industry, died in 2020. After the death of the matriach, Chanin’s sisters have been fighting for control of the company.
The feud escalated this week after Chanut and Children, which is owned two-thirds by Chanin’s sisters, rejected the company’s 2024 financial statements and blocked the proposed re-appointment of four directors, including the chairman of the board, Arsa Sarasin, at the company’s shareholders’ meeting, according to local media reports. Chanin is currently vice-chairman of the board.
In a statement reported by Thai media, Chanut and Children said it rejected the financial statement because it did not receive satisfactory answers from the management with regard to the company’s assets, liabilities and investments.
Dusit Thani was among the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. It has accumulated a net loss of more than 3.3 billion baht ($100.8 million) over the past five consecutive years and has not paid dividends to shareholders since 2020.
“The unresolved matters within the family of major shareholders could put pressure on the stock’s short-term sentiment,” said Wijit Arayapisit, strategist at Bangkok-based Liberator Securities.
The escalation of the family feud comes at a critical time for Dusit Thani, which could potentially turn around with the $1.3 billion Dusit Central Park, a mixed-use hotel, office and residential project in Bangkok’s central business district is set to be completed this year. The company’s net loss narrowed to 237 million baht in 2024 from 570 million baht the previous year as revenue nearly doubled to 10.1 billion baht.
“Fundamentally, Dusit is clearly on the path of recovery and its businesses have been over the worst,” Wijit said. “I believe conflicts among family members would sooner or later be settled and now could be a rewarding entry point for long-term investors who can afford to wait.”
Dusit Thani owns and manages nearly 300 hotels and resorts across 18 countries. Central Pattana, a listed property unit of the billionaire Chirathivat family’s Central Group, owns 17% in Dusit Thani.
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