Blackstone sells 77 m Embassy REIT shares for $325 million

Blackstone sells 77 m Embassy REIT shares for $325 million

Global fund Blackstone fund is understood to have sold 77 million shares of Embassy REIT for $325 million (about Rs 2,650 crore) to monetise investments, by selling its shares in Embassy Office Parks REIT, according to sources.

Embassy Office Parks REIT is the country’s first real estate investment trust (REIT), which was launched last year by realty firm Embassy Group and global investment firm Blackstone, to raise nearly Rs 5,000 crore. The REIT is listed on the stock exchange. The sale of units of the REIT to institutional investors was done through block deals at Rs 345 per share.

ICICI Prudential, HDFC Life and Kotak Mutual Fund are among other buyers.

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The Embassy Group has around a 15% stake in the REIT. This is the third time Blackstone is monetising its investment in Embassy REIT.

Blackstone is the largest office owner in India with an office portfolio of around 100 million sq ft, across 38 assets in seven cities. Of this, around 13 million sq ft of offices are under construction and 16 million sq ft are for future development.

Blackstone has launched two REITs in the country — Embassy REIT and Mindspace REIT. It has already exited from Mindspace REIT.

Embassy REIT is India’s first publicly listed REIT. It owns and operates a 42.8-million square feet portfolio of eight infrastructure-like office parks and four city-centre office buildings in India’s best-performing office markets of Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune and the National Capital Region (NCR).

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Its portfolio comprises 33.8 million square feet of completed operating area. The portfolio also comprises strategic amenities, including four operational business hotels, two under-construction hotels and a 100-MW solar park supplying renewable energy to tenants.