The company announced in a filing with the Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday that its board had decided that wholly owned subsidiary Natural Hotel Panwa would sell the Novotel Beach Resort Panwa Phuket to Lehman Brothers for Bt550 million.

It has also approved the sale of its 49-per-cent stake and debt claim in Siri Phuket, which has a combined principal and interest worth Bt105.86 million, for Bt200 million.

Siri Phuket, of which the remaining shares are held by Sansiri Plc, develops land at Kata Noi Bay, Phuket.

Both Natural Park and Lehman Brothers (Thailand) have reached an agreement that the latter has the right to sell back the proffered shares and debt claim in Siri Phuket if Natural Park and Lehman Brothers (Thailand) cannot agree on the direction of operations at the Siri Phuket resort.

Natural Park stock yesterday closed at Bt0.39, which was 2.63 per cent up on the day.

The company has decided to sell assets in order to lower its massive debt burden. It last week announced it had reached a preliminary agreement to sell 245.86 million shares in Bangkok Metro Plc (BMCL) to Mahasiri Siam, the major shareholder of Ch Karnchang Plc and the subway operator, at BMCL's initial public offering (IPO) price.

The company's holding in BMCL will be reduced to 820.26 million shares after the transaction.

Natural Park earlier sold 725 million shares in BMCL to Ch Karnchang and Bangkok Expressway Plc at Bt1.52 each to repay its debts. It had bought 1.79 billion BMCL shares for Bt1.50 each.

Lehman Brothers last year acquired the assets and operations of two luxury vacation resorts, two office buildings and a serviced apartment from Pacific Assets Plc, Natural Park's 63.4-per-cent-owned subsidiary, for about Bt3.2 billion.

The properties were Bangkok-based serviced-apartment blocks Pantip Court Executive Residence, 1 Pacific Place and 2 Pacific Place, Surat Thani-based Le Royal Meridien Bann Taling Ngam, and Phuket-based Le Royal Meridien Phuket Yacht Club.

In addition, through its subsidiary Giant Mauritius Holdings and Hotel and Property Development, Lehman Brothers acquired a 30.1-per-cent stake in Grande Assets Plc, the operator of the Westin Grande Sukhumvit Hotel, for Bt1.83 billion in July.