Blackstone in JV plans 20-mn sqft realty project

Realty Sector
American private equity major Blackstone Group and realty developer K Raheja Corp in a joint venture have decided to take up a jointly-owned 20 million sqft commercial project, said official sources adding that the partners are building a public portfolio through the listing of a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). Both the players are in the process of hiring at least six investment bankers for the proposed issue that will be launched shortly. Of the six bankers, Morgan Stanley has already been roped in and the rest are likely to be hired soon. Out of K Raheja Corp‘s total commercial development, the portfolio carved out for the REIT includes grade A office spaces spread across eight IT parks in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai. Both the entities have already started the process of filing papers with the regulator for the proposed listing. The size of the portfolio has been finalized, while the valuation is expected to be worked in shortly. The Mumbai-headquartered company has developed more than 30 million sqft of commercial space across western and southern parts of the country under the brands Mindspace and Commerzone. Blackstone has emerged as the most aggressive institutional investor in India‘s real estate sector with the country‘s biggest portfolio of income-producing office assets and has committed $5.3 billion across key property markets of Mumbai, Noida, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad.

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