Bombay Dyeing to sell 22 acre plot for Rs 5,200 cr to Japan's Sumitomo

Japan’s Sumitomo Realty & Development Company will buy a 22-acre land parcel in central Mumbai from Bombay Dyeing for Rs 5,200 crore, the Wadias-run company said on Wednesday.

The sale of the land parcel in Worli is one of the biggest land sale transactions in the history of the financial capital.

Sumitomo’s subsidiary Goisu will be paying for the acquisition in two phases, which will include Rs 4,675 crore initially and Rs 525 crore later on completion of certain conditions, according to an announcement made by Bombay Dyeing to the exchanges.

The Bombay Dyeing board met on Wednesday to approve the sale, and the same will have to be approved by shareholders, according to an official statement. The company’s scrip closed 6.93 per cent up at Rs 140.45 apiece on the BSE on Wednesday, against gains of 0.37 per cent on the benchmark.

The company reported a net debt of Rs 3,456 crore for the financial year ended March 2023 (FY23) on revenues of Rs 2,674 crore. It made a loss of Rs 517 crore in the same period.

The Wadia group owns 700 acres of land in and around Mumbai, housed under various companies and charitable trusts.  

Real estate prices in central Mumbai have recovered after the pandemic and construction of key infrastructure projects, like Mumbai Metro connecting South Mumbai to airports and trans-harbour sea link, are nearing completion. 

Almost 12,000 redevelopment projects are under construction in land-scarce Mumbai, an analyst said. Among India’s top cities, Mumbai in FY23 reported the highest real estate transactions with 25 land deals accounting for over 267 acres.