Rallis transfers leasehold right of land to IKEA for Rs 214 crore

Tata group's agri-input arm Rallis India Ltd has entered into an agreement with IKEA India to transfer its leasehold right over a land parcel in Mumbai for a consideration of nearly Rs 214 crore. “Mumbai-based Rallis India today said it has entered into an agreement with Swedish furniture retailing giant IKEA to monetise its surplus assets,” reported by PTI. "The company today signed an agreement for assignment of its leasehold rights in respect of the its leasehold land at MIDC Industrial area, Turbhe, Navi Mumbai to IKEA India Pvt Ltd," Rallis India said in a filing to the BSE. On the size of the agreement, Rallis said "consideration of Rs 213.93 crore is payable by IKEA to the company for assignment of its leasehold rights." Transaction is subject to the IKEA getting all required approval from regulatory authorities, including approval from Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) for the assignment of the leasehold rights as well as payment of such charges as may be applicable for obtaining the approvals. IKEA will open its first store in India at Hyderabad in the second half of 2017 even as it scouts for more sites in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru. The company, which received government approval in 2013 for its Rs 10,500 crore proposal to open retail stores under 100 per cent FDI, plans to open 25 stores by 2025 in nine Indian cities. IKEA's first store in Hyderabad will be a massive 4 lakh square feet in size and will include all features of a global IKEA store, including restaurant and play and development area. In July last year, the company had announced purchase of 13 acre land close to the IT hub in Hyderabad's HITEC city. Rallis India is a subsidiary of Tata Chemicals with business presence in the farm essentials vertical. It is into seeds, agro-chemicals, plant growth nutrients and agri-services.