SPREP acquires IT park in Chennai for $220 mn

SPREP has signed deals to acquire all the securities of Faery Estates, a Indian firm which owns, operates and maintains the SP Infocity IT Park

SPREP Pte Ltd, a joint venture (JV) between Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Shapoorji Pallonji Group, has acquired an information technology park here for $220 million (Rs 1,400 crore).

It has signed agreements to acquire all the securities of Faery Estates, an Indian company which owns, operates and maintains the SP Infocity IT Park.

“This is a high-quality property and an excellent first acquisition for SPREP,” said Andrea Orlandi, managing director for real estate investments at CPPIB. “Through this, (we) demonstrate our long-term commitment to the Indian real estate market.”

The IT Park, located on Old Mahabalipuram Road, has close to 2.7 million sq ft of operational space, leased to companies such as HSBC, Amazon, Ford, Siemens, Citibank, AT&T and Hapag Lloyd. The company is expected to expand the facility.

The Canadian pension fund, which eyes commercial assets in India through this venture, has a separate JV with Piramal Fund Management for residential properties in this country. In February 2014, it formed an alliance with this unit of Piramal Enterprises to finance housing projects, with initial capital of $500 mn from both partners, according to VCCircle.

The first deal under the platform has taken some time to fructify. The alliance was struck towards the end of 2013, with the mandate to acquire foreign direct investment-compliant, stabilised office buildings in metropolitan areas in India, added the research firm.