Brookfield India Real Estate Trust (“BIRET”) has signed binding agreements to acquire a 50% stake in four Grade A assets from Bharti Enterprises (“Bharti”). The acquisition includes marquee commercial properties totaling 3.3 million square feet, at an enterprise value of c. Rs 60,000 million. The total equity consideration for the 50% stake will be fulfilled through a preferential allotment of units in BIRET to Bharti, at Rs 300 per unit. Following this, Bharti, will become the second largest unitholder in BIRET, India’s only 100% institutionally managed office REIT, with an ownership stake of 8.53%.
The portfolio of assets includes operating Worldmark assets at Aerocity New Delhi, a mixed-use property covering 1.4 million square feet, Airtel Center, the state-of-the-art corporate facility of 700,000 square feet in North Gurugram, and Worldmark Gurugram, a mixed-use asset spanning over 700,000 square feet. These assets are in established office micro-markets, with excellent connectivity, modern retail and F&B offerings that create a vibrant live-work-play environment.
Ankur Gupta, Managing Partner, Head of Real Estate for the Asia Pacific region, Brookfield, said, “We are pleased to extend our partnership with Bharti through this strategic venture making them a significant investor in BIRET. With this acquisition, we add New Delhi to our portfolio making BIRET the most diverse office REIT in India. These high-quality assets with strong tenancy also increase our retail operating area to 1 million square feet.”
Harjeet Kohli, Joint Managing Director, Bharti Enterprises said, "With this transaction, Brookfield, through its two managed vehicles, will own 100% stake in the four marquee assets originally developed by Bharti Realty. With an over 8.5% stake in the REIT, Bharti is excited to take its partnership with Brookfield forward through a meaningful ownership in their listed portfolio of high-quality assets. Bharti also continues to invest substantially in a large development pipeline of over 10 million square feet of Grade A commercial real estate assets in Aerocity, New Delhi and hopes to grow this partnership through similar transactions."
Kotak Mahindra Capital Company acted as the financial advisor to BIRET. Khaitan & Co and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas represented BIRET as its legal counsels. Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas represented Bharti as its legal counsel.
