Ascendas India Trust to buy 1.65 mn sq ft at IT Park in Bengaluru for Rs 1,441 cr

New Delhi, March 29 (PTI) Ascendas India Trust (a-iTrust) to acquire 1.65 million sq ft area at an IT Park in Bengaluru for an estimated deal value of Rs 1,441 crore, according to a statement.

Ascendas Property Fund Trustee Pte Ltd, the Trustee-Manager of a-iTrust, has entered into a forward purchase agreement with Gardencity Realty Pvt Ltd to acquire two buildings in the IT Park with a gross leasable area of 1.65 million square feet located at Hebbal, Bengaluru.

The company said in a statement that a-iTrust will provide funding to develop the project as part of the forward purchase agreement.

It will subsequently acquire a net leasable area of up to 1.65 million sq ft in two buildings spread across two land parcels.

Initially, during the construction period, a-iTrust’s investment in the construction of the project will be through debt.

“The proposed acquisition will provide an opportunity to establish our presence in Hebbal, one of Bangalore''s upcoming IT/ITeS micro-markets, which is currently witnessing stable demand and rent,” said Sanjeev Dasgupta, CEO of the Trustee-Manager.

He added that improving connectivity and infrastructure near the project would benefit tenants in the future.

A-iTrust will provide funding towards the development of the project of about Rs 828 crore.

Once the project receives a certificate of occupancy and other key conditions are met, a-iTrust will purchase 100 percent of the shares of the two entities developing the project.

“The total purchase consideration for this transaction would depend on certain factors, including the final rentals achieved, and is currently estimated to be Rs 14.41 billion (268.2 million Singapore dollar).

As a result of the acquisition of these two IT buildings, the a-iTrust portfolio size (including pipeline projects) will increase by 7.2% from 23.2 million sq ft to 24.9 million sq ft.

A-iTrust was listed on the Singapore Exchange  Securities Trading Ltd  (SGX-ST) in August 2007 as the first Indian property trust in Asia.

Its principal objective is to own income-producing real estate used primarily as business space in India.

a-iTrust may also develop and acquire land or uncompleted developments primarily to be used as business space, with the aim of preserving the property after completion. As of December 31, 2020, a-iTrust's assets under management stands at 2.1 billion Singapore dollar.

The a-iTrust portfolio consists of seven global IT business parks and one logistics park in India. It is structured as a business trust, it offers fixed income distributions similar to a Real Estate Investment Fund (REIT).

A-iTrust is managed by the Ascendas Property Fund Trustee Pte Ltd. The trustee-manager is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore-listed CapitaLand Limited, one of the largest diversified real estate groups.

CapitaLand owns and manages a global portfolio worth 132.5 Singapore billion as of December 31, 2020. PTI MJH HRS hrs

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