Embassy of Bengaluru set to raise Rs 5,250 crore in first REIT listing

Embassy Office Parks — India’s largest tenanted office portfolio coowned by private equity giant Blackstone and commercial developer Embassy Group — will file documents with regulator Sebi on Monday to raise Rs 5,250 crore ($726 million) through a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) listing. This is set to be India’s first an Asia’s biggest office REIT listing by size in terms of square footage. The Bengaluru-based Embassy Office Parks owns and operates 33-million-sqft space across Mumbai, Pune and Noida, besides the home city. This includes seven large office parks, four city-centre office buildings and four Hilton and Four Seasons hotels. About 24-million-sqft assets are developed and the rest is under construction, sources said. The REIT generates annual income closer to Rs 2,200 crore. It is targeting a market value of around Rs 35,000 crore, or $5 billion, on debut, sources said. This translates to more than 7% capitalization rate or yield for investors betting on stable, long-term returns from leasing revenue. Embassy’s tenants include Google, MS & JP Morgan.