Actis set to buy Stanchart PE's Asian real estate portfolio for $500 mn

UK-based private equity firm Actis is set to take over the Asia real estate portfolio of Standard Chartered  Private Equity, a source in the know has said. The deal is believed to be worth $500 million (~3,230 crore). 

Standard Chartered’s Asia portfolio has three joint ventures in India — with Tata Realty & Infrastructure for buying commercial assets, Mahindra LifeSpaces for residential projects, and Shapoorji Pallonji group for affordable housing. 

Sources said that Actis has done due diligence and the paper work is on. The deal is expected to be completed in the next couple of months. 

“Standard Chartered  has informed all its JV partners. The entire real estate team of Standard Chartered will move to Actis,” sources said. An Actis spokesperson declined to comment on the deal. Standard Chartered’s reply could not be obtained till the time of going to press. 

According to the sources, Actis has fairly successful investments in energy, infrastructure, general private equity, real estate and so on. “They have successful investments in Africa, and now they are looking to do investments in Asia. They are looking at real estate as a big growth area,” a source said. 

The same source said that though Standard Chartered has done good investments in real estate, it is becoming difficult for them to provide capital for businesses such as real estate due to regulations. 

“Standard Chartered was looking for some good partners for its assets and not merely exit them,” a source said.