Blackstone buys 50% stake in Westend Mall-Pune for abt Rs300cr

Global investment firm Blackstone has acquired 50 per cent stake in Westend Mall in Pune, a deal estimated at nearly Rs 300 crore.
Global property consultant JLL India said in a statement that it has "facilitated the sale of 50 per cent stake in Westend Mall in Aundh, Pune to US-based private equity player Blackstone Group" but it did not disclose the deal value.
Post-acquisition of retail malls in Ahmedabad, Amritsar and Navi Mumbai last year, this is the fourth acquisition by the PE giant.
According to sources, the deal value has been struck at an enterprise value of Rs 575 crore.

Globally, Blackstone is the largest real estate private equity firm with USD 102 billion of assets under management. It has been acquiring commercial assets across India and has over 30 million sq ft of space. It plans to list these assets through Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).
Blackstone is also in race to acquire DLF's promoters 40 per cent stake in the realty major rental arm DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (DCCDL), a deal estimated at about Rs 12,000 -14,000 crore. DLF hold the rest 60 per cent in DCCDL.
"Westend is the largest integrated mixed-use development in the micro-market of Aundh and Baner, which houses some of the top IT companies and an abundant residential catchment in the vicinity.

"The Westend Mall, a part of the development, is the largest operational retail mall in west Pune, with marquee brands such as H&M, Shoppers Stop, Cinepolis with IMAX, Max, Starbucks, etc. In addition to the mall, the development also houses top-notch IT companies like Convergys, Sungard, OneNetwork, etc," said Sanjay Bajaj, Managing Director - Pune, JLL India.