Blackstone partner firms raise Rs 1,475 crore in separate deals

Embassy group of Bengaluru and Pune-based Panchshil Realty, the two partner companies of US-based private equity investor Blackstone, have raised funds worthRs 1,450 crore in separate deals.

Embassy group has raised Rs 1,075 crore from Piramal Finance, the lending arm of Piramal Enterprises.

Piramal Finance has done the funding sequentially across both residential and commercial projects of Embassy in Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad over a span of the last six months.

Piramal first funded Rs 325 crore project loan to Embassy Residences in Chennai, a premium residential project spread over 25 acres with 0.3 million sq ft of built-up area and followed up with an investment in Phoenix-Embassy which is a joint venture between Embassy and Phoenix Group of Hyderabad. The JV is developing 1.5 million sq ft of grade-A commercial space in the financial district of Hyderabad with a potential to develop a further four million sq ft. Subsequently, Piramal has lentRs 750 crore of corporate loan to  Embassy Group.

In a press release, Khushru Jijina, managing director, Piramal Finance said “... we are happy to provide them with customised financial solutions, as they scale up their presence across both residential and commercial."

Embassy Group is one of the largest real estate developers, having delivered 30 million sq ft of commercial office space and 6 million sq ft of premium residential developments. The Group has a pipeline of 17 million sq ft of commercial developments across Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai. Embassy has a joint venture with Blackstone called Embassy Office Parks, which was formed in 2012. The JV is preparing to form a real estate investment trust or REIT and looking to raise $600 million through the listing of the trust.

In an another development, Pune-based Panchshil has raisedRs 375 crore through one of its commercial unit Panchshil Corporate Park. Panchshil privately placed bonds to raise the money and has option to raise anotherRs 100 crore. It said the company will use the funds to refinance the existing debt and development of Ritz Carlton Pune.The seven year bond carries a rate of 8.33 per cent and Standard Chartered was the lead arranger.

Its JV with Blackstone has properties in Western India and those include Express Towers in Mumbai, Eon Free Zone in Pune.