Blackstone raises around Rs 2,270 cr from stake sale in Embassy Office Parks REIT

New Delhi, June 24 () Global fund Blackstone on Wednesday raised around USD 300 million (about Rs 2,270 crore) by selling its shares in Embassy Office Parks REIT to monetise part of its investment, sources said.

Blackstone was targeting to raise up to USD 257 million (around Rs 1,950 crore), but increased the size of its offer on account of increased demand from institutional investors.

Embassy Office Parks REIT is the country's first Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), which was launched last year by realty firm Embassy group and global investment firm Blackstone to raise nearly Rs 5,000 crore. The REIT is listed on the stock exchange.

According to sources, Blackstone raised USD 300 million (Rs 2,270 crore) by selling shares/units in the REIT to institutional investors through block deals at Rs 341 per share.

Post this deal, Blackstone stake will come down by around 9 per cent from around 55 per cent shareholding earlier.

Sources said the demand was to the tune of USD 500 million (nearly Rs 3,800 crore) from both current REIT holders and new institutional investors.

Capital Group, CI Funds, ICICI Prudential have increased their holding in the REIT, sources said.

New global institutional investors such as Brookfield, Nomura Asset Management, Norges Bank and Pru Sec bought shares, they added.

Blackstone will continue to hold the majority stake in Embassy REIT. Embassy group has around 15 per cent stake.

Blackstone has deployed over USD 8 billion in the Indian commercial real estate space.

Blackstone had proposed to sell units worth USD 250 million (around Rs 1,900 crore) to USD 257 million (around Rs 1,950 crore).

When contacted, Blackstone, Embassy group and Embassy Office Parks REIT declined to comment.

Meanwhile, Embassy Office Parks REIT distributed Rs 531.67 crore for its unitholders for the quarter ended March and nearly Rs 1,900 crore for the entire last fiscal.

The revenue from operations for the fourth quarter of FY20 grew year-on-year by 8 per cent to Rs 543.4 crore. For the full last fiscal, it rose 14 per cent to Rs 2,144.9 crore.

Net operating income for the fourth quarter grew by 10 per cent to Rs 461.8 crore. For the full 2019-20 fiscal, it grew by 15 per cent to Rs 1,817 crore.

"Our fourth quarter income and distribution payout once again illustrate the stability and resilience of Embassy REIT delivering cash flows that are backed by the covenants of our 160+ largely multinational occupier base,"Â Embassy Office Park CEO Michael Holland had said.

Since Embassy REIT listed in April 2019, the company has delivered a total return of 25 per cent.

Embassy REIT comprises 26.2 million square feet of completed and operational commercial properties across India.

With approximately 7.1 million square feet of on-campus development in the pipeline, the total portfolio spans 33.3 million square feet across seven Grade A office parks and four city-centre office buildings in India's best performing office markets of Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune and the National Capital Region (NCR). MJH BJ MKJ MKJ