Prestige group agrees to sell certain office, retail assets & 2 hotels to Blackstone for Rs 12K crore

NEW DELHI: Realty firm Prestige Estates Projects Ltd on Saturday said it has agreed to sell certain office, retail and hotel properties to global investment firm Blackstone -- in a big ticket real estate deal estimated at around Rs 12,000 crore.

Prestige group did not disclose the deal size, but sources said that the Bengaluru-based firm has signed term sheets with Blackstone to sell commercial properties for an enterprise value of around Rs 12,000 crore.

The deal is expected to be closed by end of the next month after all the necessary approvals including that of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), sources said.

In a regulatory filing, Prestige on Saturday informed that it has "signed a non-binding letter of intent" with Blackstone for the sale of its interest in "certain commercial offices, retail and hotel properties, mall management and identified maintenance businesses."

Prestige group has provided to Blackstone, exclusivity in relation to the transactions, it added.

The closure of the deal will be subject to completion of due diligence, finalization of the transaction structure, negotiation and execution of the definitive documents, satisfaction of the conditions precedent in such definitive documents and receipt of approvals, if any required.

According to sources, the total office, retail and hotel assets to be monetised through this deal could be 15-20 million sq ft both completed and under construction. Two hotels with 336 keys are also part of the deal.

Blackstone and Prestige group spokesperson declined to comment.

Prestige group will utilise the fund raised through this monetisation to partly retire its debt and future expansion.

US-based Blackstone has invested around USD 8 billion in Indian real estate. It has sponsored two REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) launched and listed so far in India -- Embassy Office Parks REIT and Mindspace Business Park REIT).

India's office market has been performing well since last few years despite the overall slowdown in the real estate sector.

The net office space leasing stood at record 45-50 million sq ft in 2019 calendar year that also saw the country's first REIT being launched and listed on stock exchange by Embassy Office Parks.

In August this year, Mindspace Business Parks launched and listed the country's second REIT, while recently Brookfield has filed document with SEBI for the third REIT.