Embassy-Blackstone JV buys majority pie in Bangalore biz park

Real estate developer Embassy Group and private equity firm Blackstone have completed acquisition of majority stake in a 106-acre business park in Bangalore for nearly Rs 1,200 crore. Embassy Office Parks - an equal joint venture between Embassy Group and funds managed by Blackstone Group - has completed the acquisition of business park named ‘Vrindavan Tech Village’, Embassy group said in a statement.

The park has been renamed as ‘Embassy TechVillage’. “Embassy Office Parks has acquired the controlling stake in Embassy TechVillage with a valuation of Rs 1,951 crore. This deal is pegged as one of the largest commercial real estate transactions in India,” the statement said.

A company spokesperson said that Embassy office Parks has acquired 60 per cent stake in Embassy TechVillage for nearly Rs 1,200 crore. Embassy TechVillage is planned as an integrated project with commercial components as well as retail and residential spaces. It has a potential built-up-office area in excess of 15 million sft, with 1.9 million sft already completed.

Embassy group chairman and managing director Jitendra Virwani said: “Blackstone and Embassy came together with a common vision to create world class office spaces and enable business communities to drive greater efficiency and growth.”

“This set the tone to creating Embassy Office Parks which, post the Embassy TechVillage acquisition, will boast of over 20 million sft of commercial real estate space.” Embassy Office Parks would now have over 150,000 park users across 4 business parks and enjoy strong and robust tenant relationships with over 100 blue chip, MNC and Indian companies in the portfolio. Blackstone Real Estate Group senior managing director Tuhin Parikh said: “We are delighted to partner with the Embassy Group and co-lead the aspiration of creating, owning and managing some of the finest business parks in India.”

“The acquisition of Embassy TechVillage is a significant milestone in strengthening our Embassy Office Parks portfolio and expanding our footprint across the country.” Embassy Office Parks has three other business parks in Bangalore and Pune comprising 18 million sq ft of commercial real estate space. Embassy Group is one of the leading property developers in India. It has developed over 35 million sft of commercial, residential and retail space in India as well as Malaysia and Serbia. Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment and advisory firms.