Private equity major Blackstone is in talks to sell around half of its stake in India’s largest real estate investment trust Embassy Office Parks to private equity firm Bain Capital, Reuters reported, quoting sources. According to the report, the deal may be worth up to $480 million at current prices.
The plan is to execute the transaction via block deals on Indian stock exchanges in the coming weeks, though a timeline or pricing has not been finalized, the report said quoting sources who had direct knowledge of the matter.
Even though the talks are in a preliminary stage, it would be US-based Bain’s first Reit investment in India if the deal does come through. It would also mark Blackstone systematic cashing in from the Embassy Office Parks Reit.
Listed in 2019, Embassy Office Parks was India’s first REIT and also the largest office REIT in Asia by area. It owns and operates over 43.2 million square feet of office parks and office buildings in Bangalore and Mumbai.
Commercial rents in Bangalore showed an annual increase of 11%, helping the city stay on top among its peers in Asia Pacific (APAC), a recent report by property brokerage firm Knight Frank shows. India’s financial capital Mumbai followed the country’s Silicon Valley, where annual rents grew 7%.
Bain Capital manages over $160 billion in assets globally. It has already invested more than $3 billion in India in the past decade.
