Blackstone in talks with Singh brothers, Dhillon family to acquire realty assets

 Global private equity major Blackstone Group is in advanced talks with Ranbaxy’s Singh brothers and Dhillon family to acquire their real estate portfolio spread over 1 million sq ft office properties for over Rs 1,000 crore, said two persons familiar with the development. The portfolio includes total six commercial buildings across four key cities, including Mumbai, Delhi, Noida and Ahmedabad. Singh brothers are also developing a large 1million sq ft office complex in Gurgaon, but this but this project may not be part of the proposed transaction. “The deal is likely to be concluded in few weeks from now as the due diligence, which is in advanced stage, is expected to close any time soon. Given their recent liquidity issues, the proposed deal is expected to provide much-needed relief to the Singh brothers,” said one of the persons mentioned above. Blackstone is acquiring these assets on its own and not through any of its existing joint investment platforms with Indian real estate developers. The New York-headquartered private equity firm is negotiating the deal directly with Singh brothers and Dhillon family.