Unitech group firm UCP in talks to sell stake in 6 projects

Unitech's LSE-listed group firm Unitech Corporate Park is in talks to sell its entire stake in 6 commercial projects being developed in India in partnership with the realty major.
UCP had raised about 360 million pounds in December 2006 through an initial public offer on the London Stock Exchange mainly to invest in these projects.
It had invested in six IT SEZ/Park projects, of which two are in Gurgaon, three in Noida and one in Kolkata. UCP holds 60 per cent stake in each of these six projects while Unitech has the remaining stake.
In a regulatory filing to the LSE, UCP also announced that a separate discussion to sell one of the SEZs in Gurgaon has been suspended.

Sources had said that UCP and Unitech were negotiating with private equity firm Blackstone and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC to sell a IT SEZ in Gurgaon (called as G2) for about Rs 2,700 crore.
"The Board of UCP announces that it has received an approach from a third party expressing interest in a potential acquisition of the company's wholly owned subsidiary Candor Investments Ltd and that it is currently in discussions regarding a possible sale of this subsidiary," UCP said.

Candor Investments is the holding company for UCP's interests in its six real estate projects.
"The separate discussions in relation to the sale of G2 announced in December 2013 have been suspended," the filing added.

Separately, Unitech informed BSE that the company has also been approached by the third party for entering into strategic alliance to complete 6 ongoing projects.
The third party has also shown interest in buying Unitech's stake in certain projects.
"We would like to announce that along with the approach to UCP, the Unitech group has also been approached by a third party in relation to a strategic alliance for carrying out the remaining development of the IT SEZs/Parks currently under development along with the potential acquisition of its stake in certain IT SEZ/Parks," Unitech said.
Unitech generally follows a strategy to exit from its commercial projects after developing them. The company had sold its large office building in Saket, south Delhi, for around Rs 500 crore in 2009.