Lehman sells stake in DLF Assets to Symphony arm

DLF, India’s biggest developer, said a fund backed by Lehman Brothers Holdings sold a stake in DLF Assets to Symphony Capital Partners.

Symphony, which holds the stake through a unit, now owns 60 per cent of the $1.1-billion investment by overseas firms, DLF Vice-Chairman Rajiv Singh said. DE Shaw & Co owns about 40 per cent, he said on a conference call with analysts late yesterday, without giving further details.

The fund sponsored by Lehman owned a $200-million stake in DLF Assets, while Symphony invested $450 million in the DLF unit, according to a report today. SC Asia, a unit of Symphony Capital, bought the stake from Lehman. Gautam Gulati, a representative of Symphony Asia in New Delhi, declined to comment. DLF Assets, owned by promoters of the New Delhi-based developer, buys commercial properties from DLF.

DLF Assets plans to raise Rs 5,000 crore ($1 billion) for the parent by March, Singh said on October 31, without elaborating. DLF Assets expects to construct 10 million square feet of space by 2009, which will yield Rs 600 crore in rents a year, the company said on its website.