Brookfield India REIT Acquires 50% Stake in Bharti Assets

New Delhi, May 16 (PTI) Brookfield India Real Estate Trust (BIRET) will acquire a 50 per cent stake in four marquee assets from Bharti Enterprises, a statement said on Thursday, pegging the enterprise value of the commercial properties at about Rs 6,000 crore.

With this, Bharti will also become the second-largest unit holder in BIRET, with an ownership stake of 8.53 per cent.

"Brookfield India Real Estate Trust has signed binding agreements to acquire a 50 per cent stake in four Grade A assets from Bharti Enterprises. The acquisition includes marquee commercial properties totalling 3.3 million square feet, at an enterprise value of Rs 60,000 million," the release said.

The total equity consideration for the 50 per cent stake will be met through a preferential allotment of units in BIRET to Bharti, at Rs 300 per unit.

Bharti will become the second-largest unit holder in BIRET, which is India's only 100 per cent institutionally managed office REIT, with an ownership stake of 8.53 per cent.

Elaborating on the contours of the deal, the statement said the portfolio of assets includes operating Worldmark assets at Aerocity New Delhi, a mixed-use property covering 1.4 million square feet, Airtel Center, the corporate facility of 7,00,000 square feet in North Gurugram, and Worldmark Gurugram, a mixed-use asset spanning over 7,00,000 square feet.

According to the statement, these assets are in established office micro-markets, with excellent connectivity, modern retail and F&B offerings that create a vibrant live-work-play environment.

Ankur Gupta, Managing Partner, Head of Real Estate for the Asia Pacific region, Brookfield, said, "We are pleased to extend our partnership with Bharti through this strategic venture making them a significant investor in BIRET."

"With this acquisition, we add New Delhi to our portfolio making BIRET the most diverse office REIT in India. These high-quality assets with strong tenancy also increase our retail operating area to 1 million square feet," Gupta added.

Harjeet Kohli, Joint Managing Director, Bharti Enterprises, noted that with the transaction, Brookfield, through its two managed vehicles, will own a 100 per cent stake in the four marquee assets originally developed by Bharti Realty.

"With an over 8.5 per cent stake in the REIT, Bharti is excited to take its partnership with Brookfield forward through a meaningful ownership in their listed portfolio of high-quality assets," Kohli said.

Bharti continues to invest substantially in a large development pipeline of over 10 million square feet of 'Grade A' commercial real estate assets in New Delhi's Aerocity, and hopes to grow this partnership through similar transactions, Kohli added.

Kotak Mahindra Capital Company acted as the financial advisor to BIRET. Khaitan & Co and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas represented BIRET as its legal counsels. Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas represented Bharti as its legal counsel.