Sobha set to raise another Rs 250 cr from land sale

Sobha Developers, the Bangalore-based realty player, is set to raise another Rs 250 crore by selling a little over 100 acres of its land in Pune. The company has been making headway to settle a part of its Rs 1,900 crore debt by selling part of its 3,000-acre land bank spread across the country. Sobha recently raised close to Rs 530 crore through the Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) route. With a debt of Rs 1,900 crore, the company was leveraged 1.6 times and it is understood that a part of the proceeds from QIP is being used to settle a part of that.

According to industry sources, the company is in advanced discussions with a Pune-based builder to sell 103 acres at Hinjewadi, the prime IT corridor in Pune. The land is located between the Infosys and Wipro campuses there. Sources further indicate that the developer in Pune is trying to rope in overseas investors to acquire the land and the deal is expected to be sewn up in three months time.

This move by Sobha Developers comes a couple of months after it managed to strike a deal with an investment fund owned by Infosys co-founder N S Raghavan to raise Rs 225 crore by selling a part of its land bank. “We understand that around Rs 75 crore has been made by the fund and the rest will also be made in three months time as they are evaluating various land parcels across 150 acres owned by Sobha,” industry sources added.

Sobha Developers is also understood to be negotiating another Rs 400 crore of cash infusion by selling land bank to the Bangalore-based real estate developer Shriram Properties. “The two companies have been discussing options and are making a slow progress. While the intent is clear, arriving at a mutually agreeable valuation is taking time,” sources close to Sobha detailed.

In addition to selling the land bank, raising resources through QIP and looking to rope in private equity investors at various projects, the company is actively engaging 12 banks and financial institutions to restructure around Rs 850 crore debt which will be due for payout in the next 18 months. Banking sources indicate that Sobha has been able to get the nod for majority of that sum and has been successful with negotiating with mutual funds to roll over debt to the tune of Rs 350 crore.