by THO
Global investment firm Blackstone on Wednesday sold its entire 23.5 per cent stake in Embassy Office Parks REIT for around ₹7,100 crore, according to sources.
Embassy Office Parks REIT is India’s first Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) sponsored by Blackstone and Bengaluru-based realty firm Embassy group.
Blackstone sold its stake in the entity at around ₹316 per share through open market transactions and at this price, the deal is valued at about ₹7,100 crore, the sources said.
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The selling price was at a discount. The company’s share declined 1 per cent to close at ₹332.11 apiece on Wednesday.
The sources said some of the existing unit holders, including ADIA, participated in the block deals. SBI Mutual Fund was among the new investors, they added.
Embassy REIT got listed on stock exchanges in 2019 after raising around ₹5,000 crore through the public issue.
Embassy Group has around 8 per cent stake in Embassy Office Parks REIT.
Embassy Group CMD Jitu Virwani said, “we welcome the expansion of the REIT’s public float register to include more high-quality investors.”
“We believe that this transaction underscores the success of REITs in India and demonstrates how the world’s leading investors view the criticality of well-run, high-quality REITs such as Embassy REIT in their portfolios,” he added.
The REIT’s investor base includes domestic mutual funds, insurers and foreign institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds.
“The business is in great shape, as demonstrated by its recent strong performance, in which the REIT delivered one of its highest leasing achievements to date in the first half of this fiscal,” Virwani said.
He also said the widespread distribution of unitholders adds depth and liquidity to the REIT’s units, provides for more efficient price discovery and bolsters the governance.
“Embassy REIT is an independent listed entity run by a professional management team. The REIT is strategic to Embassy Group, and we remain committed to its growth and development,” he added.
Embassy REIT CEO Aravind Maiya said the entity’s public shareholding continues to go up and has increased from 30 per cent at IPO to 92 per cent now. “We paved the way for REITs in India and the increased investor participation is heartening”.
Blackstone has sold its stake in many tranches.
Last year, Blackstone raised around USD 325 million (about ₹2,650 crore) by selling its shares in Embassy Office Parks REIT.
Post this deal, Blackstone’s stake came down to around 24 per cent from around 32 per cent earlier.
Embassy REIT owns and operates a 45.3 million square feet portfolio of nine infrastructure-like office parks and four city centre office buildings in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, and the National Capital Region (NCR).
Embassy REIT’s portfolio comprises 35.3 million square feet of completed operating area.
Blackstone launched two office REITs in India — Embassy REIT and Mindspace REIT. It has already exited Mindspace REIT.
It has also sponsored retail assets backed REIT ‘Nexus Select Trust’ which got listed this year.
