Private equity giant Blackstone's big appetite for India's commercial real estate is poised to trigger more buyouts. The global investor is close to acquiring a 1-million sqft office space at Vikhroli in Mumbai for Rs 1,050 crore ($177 million) from homegrown real estate fund house Milestone Capital. The fully leased-out property, 247 Park, is 74% owned by Milestone and 26% by HCC Real Estate. The asset carries a net enterprise valuation of Rs 1,000 crore and a working capital requirement of around Rs 50 crore, people directly involved with the matter said. This comes a week after Blackstone closed a transaction acquiring the iconic Express Towers in South Mumbai for Rs 900 crore. The property was acquired through a joint venture with Pune-based Panchshil Realty, in which the latter owns majority shares, sources added. (The Times of India)
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts ready to invest in Chennai-based Archean Chemicals: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) is close to concluding a deal to invest Rs 500-600 crore ($84 million - $101 million) in privately held Chennai-based industrial salt producer Archean Chemicals as the US private equity firmperseveres with its strategy to pick up stakes in Indian companies, betting on the country's long-termpotential. The structured credit transaction, which will be completed in two tranches, will help the company to part-fund its expansion plans, according to people familiar with the terms. The buyout firm's non-banking finance arm will initially invest Rs 135 crore ($22.73 million) in the holding company of the Chennai-based group. In the second phase, the money will be provided to the project. (The Economic Times)
Shriram Properties to float IPO next year: Shriram Properties, the realty arm of the Rs 60,000-crore Shriram Group, is planning to hit the market with its much delayed Initial Public Offering by next year, if market conditions improve after the general elections. The company is also wanted to scale up the company’s valuation to Rs 20,000 crore ($3.36 billion) from the present Rs 3,500 crore ($589 million) in seven years. (Business Line)
PNB may sell some of its bad loans to ARCs: Punjab National Bank (PNB) will soon take a call on whether to sell some of its bad loans to asset reconstruction companies. The bank’s Board may meet by the end of the month for this purpose, KR Kamath, Chairman & Managing Director of PNB told. PNB had, for the last couple of years, taken a conscious decision of not offloading a portion of its NPAs to ARCs, Kamath said. The bank’s asset quality had taken a hit due to the slowdown in the economy. (Business Line)
India Inc flocks to Exfinity, a venture capital fund floated by leading technology executives in Bangalore: Exfinity, a venture capital fund floated by leading technology executives in Bangalore has been attracting interest from executives in various sectors, an indicator of an increasing appetite to fund startups in India. The fund, which is planning to raise Rs 125 crore ($21 million) in the first round, is also close to making its first investment. Exfinity's recent investors include UB Group's finance head Ravi Nedungadi, Ravi Sud, CFO of Hero Moto Corp and Suresh Senapaty, the CFO of Wipro. Exfinity is close to making its first investment in a Bangalore-based technology startup with a sum of Rs 3-5 crore. The investors also hope to close the first round of fund-raising by the end of this month. (The Economic Times)
Courtesy: VCCEdge
