Global investors in race for student housing company Good Host Spaces

Good Host Spaces is jointly owned by Goldman Sachs and Warburg Pincus

Global investors, such as Canadian fund manager Brookfield Asset Management, UK-based Actis, and Singapore's Keppel Land, have bid for Good Host Spaces, a student housing company owned by American private equity giants Goldman Sachs and Warburg Pincus, said people in the know.

Goldman Sachs, which has a 75 per cent stake in Good Host Spaces, will exit the firm after the deal, sources said. Warburg Pincus owns the rest of it.
 

When contacted, Goldman Sachs declined to comment. An email sent to Warburg did not elicit any response.

Emails sent to Brookfield and Actis did not elicit any response. A Keppel Land spokesperson said: “We do not comment on market talk.”
 

Though the sources said the deal was likely be worth $300 million-$500 million (Rs 2,475 crore-Rs 4,126 crore), this could not be independently verified.
 

“Since Goldman Sachs held this investment for six years, it would like to exit now,” said a source. Details about Goldman's investment in Good Host could not be obtained.
 

Good Host Spaces was founded by Nimesh Grover and Stanley D’britto in September 2017. It was initially backed by Goldman Sachs and HDFC.
 

In early 2021, Baskin Lake Investment, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, bought HDFC’s 24.48 per cent stake in Good Host Spaces for Rs 216.18 crore. After the deal, media reports said Warburg was looking to increase the stake in Good Host Spaces to 50 per cent in 18 to 24 months.
 

Good Host operates around 20,000 beds across campuses of educational institutes, such as Manipal University, O P Jindal Global University, and Shoolini University. In earlier media reports, the company said it was in talks with other prestigious institutes to expand its portfolio to 50,000 beds in the near term.
 

Brookfield has made several investments in Indian real estate. It acquired assets of Unitech Corporate Parks, Powai assets of the Hiranandani brothers for $1 billion, and commercial assets of Bengaluru-based RMZ, including its co-working company COWRKS for $2 billion (in 2020).
 

Brookfield listed the real estate investment trust (REIT) in February 2021 and raised Rs 3,800 crore through a public issue.

Among others, Actis already has a tie-up with Tata Realty and Infrastructure to invest in office assets. Last year, it said it would invest over $700 million to develop properties for life space companies.
 

Keppel Land, the property arm of Keppel Corporation, has also made investments in Indian real estate.

In 2020, it tied up with Emerald Haven Realty, part of the TVS group to develop a housing project in south Chennai. It also partnered with Mumbai-based Rustomjee group to develop a township in Thane, on the outskirts of Mumbai.

In focus

• Good Host Spaces was founded by Nimesh Grover and Stanley D’britto in September 2017
• It was initially backed by Goldman Sachs and HDFC
• Currently, Goldman Sachs owns 75 per cent, and Warburg Pincus the rest. Goldman is looking for an exit
• In 2021, Warburg Pincus, bought HDFC’s stake in Good Host for Rs. 216.18 crore
• Good Host operates around 20,000 beds across campuses of institutes