Global investment firm Blackstone-sponsored Nexus Select Trust has filed the draft paper with market regulator Sebi to launch India's first public issue of retail REIT to raise around US$ 500 million (about Rs 4,000 crore), sources said. Nexus Select Trust has a portfolio of 17 operational shopping malls across 14 major cities, covering about 10 mn sq ft of area valued at around USD 3 bn.
Nexus Select Trust has filed the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and is looking to hit the capital market with India's first retail REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) public issue in the first half of the 2023 calendar year.
The size of the initial public offer (IPO) of Nexus Select Trust REIT will be around USD 500 million, they added. This will be the third REIT sponsored by Blackstone. It had earlier launched India's first REIT -- Embassy Office Parks REIT-- and then Mindspace Business Parks REIT.
The REIT, a popular instrument globally, was introduced in India a few years ago to attract investment in the real estate sector by monetising rent-yielding assets. It helps unlock the massive value of real estate assets and enables the participation of retail investors.
At present, there are three listed REITs -- Embassy Office Parks REIT, Mindspace Business Parks REIT, and Brookfield India Real Estate Trust -- on Indian stock exchanges but all these are leased office assets. Nexus Select Trust will be the first REIT with rent-yielding retail real estate assets.
In its portfolio of 10 mn sq ft of retail real estate, Nexus Select Trust has also included Select Citywalk mall in south Delhi. There are around 3,000 stores in its shopping malls while the number of brands is approximately 1,000. Blackstone is very bullish on the growth story of India's retail sector, which has bounced back sharply post the second wave of the Covid pandemic.
Nexus Select Trust has done leasing of around 3.5 mn sq ft over the last three years and three months. Its senior management team consisting of nine CXOs (with 20+ years average experience) led by Dalip Sehgal (Former Executive Director of Unilever India) as CEO is supported by over 500 employees.
The Board of Directors is highly diversified and experienced. The key board members are Michael Holland (ex-CEO of the Embassy REIT), Arjun Sharma (Chairman and Director of the Select Group), Jayesh Merchant (ex-CFO of Asian Paints), Sadashiv Rao (Former Director of IDFC), and Tuhin Parikh (Head of BX India Real Estate). Blackstone has a real estate portfolio of 85 assets totaling 150 mn sq ft across the office, retail and logistics segments.
