‘By P. Sarojini’
(CWBN)_The Canadian asset manager ‘Brookfield Asset Management’ will buy commercial properties from an Indian developer for $2 billion, which is marked as the biggest real estate deal in the South Asian nation. The privately held developer said in the statement that Brookfield will acquire 125 lakh square feet of rent-yielding offices and co-working spaces from RMZ Corporation. The Indian firm said once after the transaction is done, they will have zero debt and have planned to invest the money in expanding their portfolio.
“The deal marks the largest-ever deal in the Indian real estate industry,” RMZ said in a statement.
In the recent years, many foreign investors are buying into the Indian office market. According to the property research firm Knight Frank, this segment has gathered so far $15.4 billion of equity investment since 2011. Last week, Blackstone signed a non-binding agreement to buy some assets. The previously reported deal could be worth $2 billion.
RMZ’s managing director Arshdeep Singh Sethi said in his statement that “The transaction accentuates the unabating strength and resilience of the commercial office business”.
It was said that the firm is planning to expand its real asset portfolio in the next six years from 670 lakh square feet to 850 lakh square feet. Some of the main clients of RMZ’s technology and business parks include Accenture, Google and HSBC. The company is selling its properties in the southern Indian cities of Bengaluru and Chennai.
The statement from RMZ was confirmed by a Brookfield representative. The alternative asset manager claims that it owns and operates 220 lakh square feet of office properties in India and has now selected banks for an initial public offering of its Indian real estate investment trust which could raise at least $500 million.
