Brookfield, GIC to co-invest in real estate

Mumbai: Brookfield India Real Estate Investments Trust and the Singapore government’s sovereign wealth fund will together acquire $1.4 billion worth of commercial real estate assets in Mumbai and Gurugram, the firms said in a joint release.

The acquisition will give exit to Brookfield’s real estate private equity division that held the assets for more than seven years. Brookfield had acquired the Mumbai assets in downtown Powai from Hiranandani Group for $1 billion in 2016. The Candor properties in Gurugram were bought from Unitech Group for ₹3,500 crore in 2014. “Brookfield India REIT and GIC will acquire two large commercial assets (totalling 6.5 million sq ft) from Brookfield Asset Management’s private real estate funds in an equal partnership. The acquisition includes commercial properties in Brookfield’s Downtown Powai, Mumbai and Candor TechSpace, Sector 48, Gurugram, for a combined enterprise value of US$1.4 billion,” the release said.

“Growing and diversifying our India REIT portfolio via accretive transactions is part of our long-term strategy. This unique partnership furthers our global partnership with GIC in India,” said Ankur Gupta, managing partner, head of real estate, APAC region, Brookfield. According to the firm, the transaction will increase the gross asset value of Brookfield India Real Estate Trust to US $3.5 billion and the net asset value to $2 billion. “With a 35% increase in total leasable space and a 44% increase in operating area, the acquisition significantly scales the Brookfield India REIT portfolio,” the release said. “We expect growth in the India office sector to continue, driven by an established IT industry, increased focus by global corporations on digital adoption, and the availability of skilled talent. These acquisitions are testament to our confidence in the India office sector, as well as the wider Indian market, and will add to the diversification of GIC’s global office portfolio,” said Kishore Gotety, co-head of Real Estate, Asia ex-China, GIC.

On Friday, Brookfield India Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) reported a 26.5% declined in its consolidated net profit to ₹32.69 crore for the quarter ended March from ₹44.48 crore in the previous year. However, The trust’s total income increased by 17.7% to ₹307.7 crore from ₹261.4 crore in the same quarter last year.Brookfield India Real Estate Trust comprises of five large campus format office parks located in Mumbai, Gurugram, Noida, and Kolkata. Its portfolio consists of 18.7 million sq ft comprising 14.3 million sq ft of completed area, 0.6 million sq ft under construction and 3.9 million sq ft of future development potential.