In a major development, it has been revealed that the American private equity major Blackstone Group and real estate developer K Raheja Corp are all set to list India’s second REIT. Both the groups are planning to jointly list their 20 million sq ft commercial portfolio in the market. The first Blackstone-Embassy Park REIT was launched in March this year.
According to the sources, both Blackstone and K Raheja Corp are currently in the process to hire at least six investment bankers for the proposed REIT. The expected launch may take place by early next year. The groups have already roped in Morgan Stanley among the major investor, while rest will also be finalized soon.
Sources also said that the jointly owned REIT will have 85% stakes from the K Raheja Corp while the rest 15% stakes will be from Blackstone group. K Raheja commercial properties portfolio include grade A office spaces spread across around eight IT parks in various cities like Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai.
Another source from the company said, “The size of the portfolio has been finalized. Moreover, both the groups have already started working on the process of filing papers with the regulator for the proposed listing. The valuation is expected to be completed in the next few weeks.”
Realty firm K Raheja Corp is India’s second-largest commercial park developer and is seen as a prominent candidate for listing its REIT in India. In 2017, a global equity firm, Blackstone has acquired a 15% stake in the realty group’s commercial portfolio. Till date, the Raheja group has constructed more than 30 million sq ft of commercial space across different parts of the country under Mindspace and Commerzone brands.