CapitaLand India Trust to buy 1mn sqft IT park in Bengaluru for Rs 1,226 crore

(Representative image)

CapitaLand India Trust (CLINT) has agreed to acquire one million square feet IT park in Bengaluru for a total price that is expected to be Rs 1,226.1 crore, which includes the funding for the project, the company said in a statement.

The company will provide funding for the development of the project as part of the forward purchase arrangement, CapitaLand India Trust Management Pte. Ltd, the trustee manager, said in a statement.

The project comprises two buildings with an aggregate net leasable area of about 1.5 million square feet.

CLINT proposes to fund the development of the project and subsequently acquire a net leasable area of 1.0 million sq ft. The remaining net leasable area of approximately 0.5 million sq ft will be retained by the landowners.

The landowners have appointed CapitaLand Services (India) Private Limited to oversee the design, development, and leasing of the project, it said.

During the construction period, CLINT’s investment in the construction of the project will be through debt and internal resources. The forward purchase acquisition will be executed after the completion of the construction of Building 1 and is subject to the receipt of the occupancy certificate for Building 1 and the fulfillment of other key conditions.

"The proposed acquisition will provide an opportunity to establish our presence in Outer Ring Road, India's largest office micro-market, which has demonstrated resilient performance during the COVID-19 pandemic." As a result of the acquisition of one million square feet area, CLINT's portfolio size (inclusive of committed investment pipeline) will increase from about 28 million sq ft to 29 million sq ft,” said Sanjeev Dasgupta, Chief Executive Officer of the trustee-manager.

CLINT, formerly known as Ascendas India Trust (a-iTrust), was listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX-ST) in August 2007 as the first Indian property trust in Asia. Its principal objective is to own income-producing real estate used primarily as business space in India.

Its portfolio includes eight IT business parks, one logistics park, one industrial facility, and one data centre development in India, with a total completed floor area of 15.5 million square feet spread across Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Mumbai.