In the largest deal in mall space, global investor Blackstone Group is set to acquire South City Mall in Kolkata for Rs 3,480 crore ($400 million), said people familiar with the matter. Apart from the mall, the deal also includes the purchase of a school property in Sri Lanka, the people said.
“Both the mall and school are running very well. Most of the negotiations have been done,” they said.
The same people said the deal is being sealed at about 20% higher than the Select City Walk, which was included in its Nexus Select Trust, people said. The deal will enable Blackstone-led Nexus Select Trust to make a foray into Kolkata.
Blackstone did not reply to any comments, while South City Projects could not be contacted.
The asset manager, which has $1.1 trillion assets under management, has deployed $20 billion in office space and hotels in the country and floated three real estate investment trust (REITs) with partners or alone including a retail property focused REIT by the name Nexus Select Trust.
The portfolio of Nexus comprises18 centres with a gross leasable area (GLA) of 10.4 million sq ft spread across 14 cities in the country , two hotel assets (354 keys) and three office assets with a GLA of ~1.3 million square feet.
The shopping mall is owned by South City Projects, a joint venture of several real estate developers based in the city, and is the largest in eastern India, according to its portal.
South City Mall houses brands like Zara, Sephora and Marks & Spencer, in addition to movie theatres and a gaming arena.
Besides, Blackstone and its partners — Sattva group and Panchshil Realty – are looking to raise $1 billion (over Rs 8,400 crore) through an initial public offering (IPO) of a mega REIT next year.
Earlier, it floated and listed REITs along with partners Embassy group and K Raheja Corp. Blackstone is also growing it’s warehousing and data centre business in the country.
» Read More
