Top realtors in talks with Graphite India to acquire Bengaluru land

Deal size expected to be in the Rs 2,000-25,000 crore range

Some of Bengaluru’s top developers, including Embassy, RMZ, Prestige Estates, Salarpuria Sattva, and big private equity funds such as Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management and Singapore’s CapitaLand, are in talks with carbon and graphite maker Graphite India to buy the latter’s 25 acres of prime land in the Karnataka capital, said sources.

The plot is in the Brookfield area of ‘India’s Silicon Valley’. The land has development potential of 3.5 million square (sq.) feet (ft) and the buyer can build a large office complex, added sources.

The land could fetch anywhere between Rs 2,000 crore and Rs 2,500 crore, informed sources.

“The plot is close to an upcoming Metro station and connected to the Outer Ring Road. Since it has large development potential in a tech zone, many top developers have evinced interest in the land parcel,” said a source.

Graphite’s factory was located on the land parcel, which was shut down last year.

Anarock Property Consultants is running the mandate to sell the plot.

Sources said if Embassy gets the land, it could tie up with its partner Blackstone to buy it.

“Embassy, RMZ, and Prestige Estates are keen on it because they have large properties in nearby areas,” said sources.

Emails sent to Graphite India, RMZ, Embassy, Prestige Estates, and CapitaLand did not elicit any response. Brookfield Asset Management declined to comment.

Interestingly, the companies looking to buy the plot have raised capital in the recent past.  RMZ is in talks with CPPIB, Japan’s Mitsui to raise Rs 3,000 crore by selling stake in its portfolio, said reports. Singapore’s GIC invested Rs 434 crore in Prestige Estates recently.

Embassy’s joint venture with Blackstone raised Rs 4,750 crore through the country’s first real estate investment trust, last year.

Sources said CapitaLand is keen to build a portfolio of office properties, including information technology (IT) parks.

Singaporean sovereign fund GIC and CapitaLand are in separate talks with Hines Real Estate, the development manager for tile maker Nitco’s land in Mumbai’s Kanjurmarg, to buy the commercial property from the latter for about Rs 2,000 crore.

Bengaluru absorbs the highest office properties in the country. It saw gross absorption of about 15 million sq. ft in 2019, an increase of 6 per cent from 2018.

Technology and IT- business process outsourcing sector accounted for 39 per cent of the total leasing during the year, followed by the engineering and manufacturing segment’s share at 16 per cent and the flexible workspace share at 15 per cent. During the year, the IT capital of India saw supply infusion of 10.9 million sq. ft.