Global private equity giant Blackstone has launched a deal to sell some of its units in Embassy Office Parks Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and raise around $300 million, three persons with knowledge of the transaction told Moneycontrol. Embassy Office Parks is India’s first real estate investment trust.
“BofA Securities and Morgan Stanley are the advisors on this block deal which has now been launched," one of the individuals said. A second individual confirmed the same.
“Considering the current commercial real estate environment, it’s a good time to take some chips off the table and show a partial exit to its investors,” a third individual told Moneycontrol.
All three spoke to Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity. Blackstone and Embassy REIT decline to comment. Morgan Stanley and BofA Securities couldn’t be immediately reached for a comment.
Embassy Office Parks REIT launched an initial public offering (IPO) and debuted in the stock market in April 2019. It was backed by Blackstone and Bengaluru-based Embassy Property Development Pvt and it owns a portfolio comprising seven office parks and four prime city-centre office buildings, totalling 33.3 million sq ft as of March 31. Embassy has invested in high-quality assets in Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai and Noida.
"The REIT is now trading close to IPO levels,” said the third person familiar with the proposed deal.
A real estate investment trust is a company that owns, operates and in most cases operates, income-producing properties or real estate. Modelled after mutual funds, REITs pool the capital of numerous investors and generate steady income for their investors. REITs own many types of commercial real estate, ranging from office and apartment buildings to warehouses, hospitals, shopping centres and hotels.
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