Raheja to buy Citibank property in Mumbai's BKC for Rs 400 crore

Realty developer K Raheja Corp is set to buy the erstwhile headquarters of US-based banking major Citibank in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) area of Mumbai for around Rs 400 crore, a source said.

Blackstone-backed Raheja has pipped Mirae Asset Management and another individual investor in bagging the 90,000-sq. ft property. The bid amounts of the latter two could not be ascertained. Sixteen entities had bid. Among these were Interglobe Aviation’s property arm, Singapore’s GIC, Godrej Fund Management and Kotak Realty Fund. 

“The entities belonging to Raheja Corp have bought the property. It fits well for (Mumbai-based) Raheja, as it has sizable presence in BKC,” said a source. Experts said Raheja’s bid was in line with market rates for commercial property in the area, which are between Rs 32,000 and Rs 40,000 a sq. ft.

Two international property consultancies, CBRE and JLL, are handling the process. Citi declined to comment. An e-mail to K Raheja Corp did not elicit a response.

Raheja owns commercial property in excess of 20 million sq ft and Blackstone owns 15 per cent in the former’s rental arm. It has commercial property in Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru, among others and is a serious contender to float a real estate investment trust.

Citibank had planned to sell the eight-storey building in 2013 but did not proceed. It has since shifted all its front-end businesses, including consumer, investment and corporate banking, to the First International Finance Centre, a building in BKC. 

“Not many independent buildings are available for outright sale. That is why funds, developers and investors have shown interest in the property,” said the source quoted earlier.

Recently, Blackstone bought the One BKC building in the same area, for Rs 2,600 crore from Radius Developers. It is also negotiating to buy Adani Realty's commrecial building in BKC.