Mapletree Investments, GIC, Blackstone & Brookfield eye Chennai's SP Infocity

Temasek-owned real estate asset manager Mapletree Investments, GIC of Singapore, Blackstone and Brookfield Asset Management have placed separate bids to acquire SP Infocity, a 2.7-million-sqft office park in Chennai, for an estimated Rs 2,500 crore, people directly aware of the matter said. Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group and Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) equally own the office park in the southern metro’s IT corridor. CPPIB came in as an investor three years ago when SP Infocity was partially occupied. Currently, as the complex is completely occupied with A-grade tenants, the SP-CPPIB combine plans to sell the asset as part of its business model, one of the sources cited earlier said. International property consultant JLL is running the auction process of SP Infocity — in which World Bank, Amazon, BNP Paribas, Freshworks and HSBC have their offices. The SP Group declined to comment on the report. Another person said Mapletree, which manages assets worth over $30 billion, was a strong contender for the asset. However, a third person said no bidder is in the pole position yet. The SP-CPPIB joint venture model is to own, operate and later sell tenanted office buildings in the country. Besides CPPIB, SP Group has a similar partnership with global insurance giant Allianz.