The Hindu Business Line : Lodha Group plans Rs 8,000-crore IPO

Mumbai, Dec. 13 Lodha Group plans to come out with an Rs 8,000-crore initial public offering in the next six months. Earlier during the year, Delhi-based DLF had raised Rs 9,625 crore.

The Lodha Group has received $425 million (about Rs 1,700 crore), probably the highest investment in a city-based developer, from a group of private equity investors led by Deutsche Bank Singapore. The investment was to fund three of the Lodha Group’s FDI-compliant projects in and around the city.

Joint Venture

Global investment bank JP Morgan has invested Rs 274 crore in Lodha Bellissimo, a premium residential building, developed by Lodha Builders at the defunct Apollo Mills campus here. Spread over a developable area of 20,000 sq m, each of the 3000-4,000 sq ft flat in the 57-storey building now costs Rs 25,200 a sq ft. Two years ago, the Lodha Group bought the mill land from the National Textile Corporation for Rs 180 crore.

“We have a land bank of about 6,000 acres,” Mr Abhinandan Lodha, Director, Lodha Group, told Business Line. Conservative estimates peg the valuation of the group’s businesses at about Rs 30,000-Rs 40,000 crore. The company is on the look out for inking a joint venture with a hi-tech pure construction company to further hone its skills.

The group is currently developing over 25 million sq ft of prime land in over 27 projects in and around Mumbai. It has recently acquired 12.9 acres at Hyderabad for Rs 225.40 crore for developing a high-end residential and commercial complex.

Over Rs 2,000 crore is being spent on developing exclusive commercial spaces in Mumbai on a portion of its land reserve earmarked for six such projects.

Work on the first IT park and techno campus at Kanjurmarg and corporate campus at Mahalaxmi is on. Projects at Parel and Thane are scheduled to follow.

The techno campus at Kanjurmarg will be spread across 18 lakh sq ft, while the one at Thane will be about 22.5 lakh sq ft. The Mahalaxmi project will be about 4.5 lakh sq ft and the Parel venture 1.5 lakh sq ft.

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