Comments
In one of the largest logistics transactions in India, PE fund Blackstone on Monday announced that funds managed by Blackstone Real Estate have bought Embassy Industrial Parks from Warburg Pincus and Embassy Group in a $700-million (₹5,250 crore) deal.
Embassy Industrial Parks comprises 22 million square feet of Grade A logistics and warehousing assets located in urban centres catering to tenants in major sectors. Blackstone, in the first tranche, is to pick up 10.6 million square feet and the balance would be acquired in two weeks.
Also read: Why the stock of Embassy REIT is a good ‘Buy’
Blackstone is among the top 10 business groups in India by total value of assets and the transaction is expected to reinforce the firm’s leading position in office, retail and logistics. Embassy Industrial Parks’ warehouses are located across major industrial hubs in India including Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, and Pune, and are leased to leading e-commerce and retail players.
Announcing the deal, Asheesh Mohta, Head of Blackstone’s Real Estate India Acquisitions, said, “Logistics is one of the firm’s highest global conviction themes, anchored by our belief that e-commerce trends will further fuel demand for logistics space especially near city centres. This is particularly true in India, where e-commerce is heavily under penetrated compared to major economies around the world. For instance, Bengaluru, the e-commerce hub, only has 30 million square feet of total Grade A and B warehouse space compared to 1.2 billion square feet in Chicago.”
Tuhin Parikh, Blackstone’s Head of Real Estate India, said: “We’ve successfully launched the country’s first two REITs, with the very first Embassy Office Parks REIT marking its second-year anniversary this month, and recently announced the acquisition of a portfolio of commercial properties.”
Jitu Virwani, Chairman and Managing Director of Embassy Group, said:”We are extremely focussed on consolidating our resources towards the growth of our core businesses of office and residential development and management. This transaction with Blackstone Real Estate along with the upcoming merger with IBREL is a strategic move in that direction.”
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.