In what is the first buyout in the India-focused real estate fund space, Yatra Capital Ltd, an Amsterdam-listed fund, has bought out Eredene Capital Mauritius through its subsidiary K2 Property Ltd for €18.07 million (Rs99.39 crore)
Eredene, listed on London’s Alternate Investment Market, had raised a $100 million (Rs410 crore) India-focused realty fund that listed on Euronext in December, in which hedge funds such as GLG Partners LP, Calyon & Cayman Family, and Henderson Global Investors had invested.
Earlier this year, Citigroup Ventures acquired Old Lane, a hedge fund that had a $500 million real estate focused fund and a $500 million general fund that was also investing in real estate, as well as ajoint venture with a Chennai-based developer.
Citi’s acquisition of Old Lane was a global buyout.Yatra, on the other hand,has acquired the investment vehicle through which Eredene was routing its Indiainvestments.
Real estate analysts have been predicting a consolidation in the Indian realty fund space for sometime now.
Said Ambar Maheswari, head of investments at DTZ, a real estate consultancy firm, “We could see many more mergers or buyouts of this kind over the next couple of years as funds consolidate for better reach and investment opportunities.”
There are around 150 funds operating in the Indian real estate space, ranging in size from the largest mortgage major Housing Development Finance Corp.’s $750 million overseas fund to smaller ones such as Dewan Housing Finance Ltd’s $69 million fund, which closed last year.
Ajoy Veer Kapoor, managing director of Saffron Asset Managers, which manages the Yatra fund, said, “The acquisition gives us a diversified portfolio and asset spread.”
Saffron was also the adviser for Eredene’s investments in India.
Through this acquisition, Yatra has added four properties to its portfolio—a 50% stake in a 800,000 sq. ft mall in Nashik (Maharashtra), a 30% stake in a combined retail, office, hotel and residential development in Indore (Madhya Pradesh), a 35% stake in a 100 acre integrated residential township, also in Indore, and a 50% stake in a five-star hotel and serviced apartment project in Bangalore (Karnataka).
From the €100 million fund, which it had raised in December last year, Yatra has invested €51.58 million in Indian real estate projects.
Recently, the company acquired a 49% stake in a joint venture with Pune-based developer Kolte-Patil for €21.6 million.
Source : Livemint