Brookfield Reit seals India's record office real estate deal for ₹13,125 cr

The transaction will expand Brookfield India REIT's operating area by 31 per cent and its GAV by 34 per cent

Brookfield India Real Estate Trust (Reit) has signed binding agreements to acquire Ecoworld, a Grade-A office campus spanning 7.7 million square feet (msf) in Bengaluru, for ₹13,125 crore. 

This is India’s biggest office transaction, on a 100 per cent acquisition basis, said Nishant Kabra, head, capital markets – North & West India, JLL. Other big deals include the DLF promoters’ 40 per cent stake sale in DLF Cyber City Developers (DCCDL) to GIC and buyback of shares by DCCDL for ₹11,900 crore in 2017 and Blackstone’s ₹7,467 crore investment in Prestige Group’s commercial assets in 2021. 

“This transaction underscores the growing maturity of India’s Reit ecosystem. Reits are actively deploying capital and competing strongly for asset acquisitions, a sign of deepening institutional participation in commercial real estate,” said Kabra. 

Anuj Puri, chairperson, Anarock Group, termed the deal as the biggest Reit acquisition in India so far. It’s a major event in the country's commercial real estate market, Puri said. 

Ecoworld is built across 48 acres on Bengaluru’s Outer Ring Road -- one of India’s busiest office micro-markets. 

The Board of the Manager for Brookfield India Reit has proposed to fund the acquisition through ₹3,500 crore of new debt issuance, ₹1,000 crore of cash proceeds from a preferential issue in the second quarter of FY26, and a new equity issuance of ₹2,500 crore. 

This is a related-party transaction, as the seller, BSREP III New York FDI I (DIFC) Limited, is part of the Brookfield group. According to two independent valuations, the average value of the asset stood at ₹14,044.1 crore. 

“This acquisition will mark our entry into one of India’s strongest office markets, expanding the size of our Reit by over 30 per cent and positioning us as a truly pan-Indian platform. Our embedded growth prospects remain strong, supported by continued leasing momentum, which positions us well to deliver value to our unitholders,” said Alok Aggarwal, chief executive officer and managing director, Brookfield India Reit. 

The deal has been executed at a 6.5 per cent discount to its gross asset value (GAV). It is expected to increase Brookfield India Reit’s net asset value by 1.7 per cent (pro forma) and the distribution per unit to unitholders by 3 per cent. 

In the first half of FY26, Brookfield India Reit announced distributions of ₹10.5 per unit, up 15.38 per cent year-on-year. 

After the acquisition, Brookfield India Reit’s operating area will expand by 31 per cent to 32.3 msf, and its GAV will surge 34 per cent to ₹53,600 crore, it said. The share of global capability centres (GCCs) in its tenant base will also increase to 45 per cent from 37 per cent, while the concentration of its top 10 tenants will reduce to 30 per cent from 34 per cent. 

The asset is leased to a diverse roster of GCCs, including Honeywell, Morgan Stanley, State Street, Standard Chartered, Shell, KPMG, Deloitte, and Cadence, among others, Brookfield noted. 

The transaction will re-rate the distribution profile of the Brookfield India Reit, and is expected to increase the share of dividends from 16 per cent to 30 per cent in the near term, making it attractive to a wider unitholder base, it added. 

“We expect the market to move into a more sophisticated phase where Reits not only acquire but also recycle and trade assets within their portfolios. While India is still in the early innings of this evolutionary journey, the direction is unmistakable — stronger balance sheets, greater liquidity, and increasing capital flows are setting the stage for a deeper, more liquid, and globally comparable Reit market,” Kabra added. 

Big-ticket transaction

• In 2017, DLF promoters sold 40% in DLF Cyber City Developers (DCCDL) for ₹11,900 crore. This included sale of stake to GIC and buyback of shares by DCCDL
• In 2021, Blackstone acquired ₹7,467 cr in commercial assets owned by Prestige Group 
• Ecoworld acquisition marks Brookfield’s entry into one of India’s strongest office markets
• Will increase operating area by 31% to 32.3 msf