Private equity player Wachovia Corporation is learnt to be in discussions with Gurgaon-based the Vatika Group, real estate company, for an investment of Rs 500 crore. The investment will be made in a project floated by Vatika Group and not in the holding company.
Vatika is also learnt to be in talks with another global PE major Goldman Sachs for raising funds for a separate project. A source said the group is divesting 50% equity in one of its projects for Rs 100 crore.
Vatika Group executive director Gaurav Bhalla and the Goldman Sachs spokesperson declined to comment on the investment. Even the Wachovia Corporation spokesperson declined to comment. Sources say, both deals are at an advanced stage and likely to see closure soon .
The Vatika group, which has been in the business for the last fifteen years, operates in real estate, hospitality and facilities management and has a portfolio of resorts, restaurants, farmlands and corporate complexes, group housing, business centers and shopping malls. The group is executing projects worth Rs 3,200 crore, spanning real estate and hospitality.
Wachovia Capital is the private equity arm of Wachovia Corporation, the fourth-largest bank holding company in the US. It recently made a Rs 234 crore investment in Gurgaon-based real estate company Vipul Estates. The fund has also picked equity in Bhilwara Energy (BEL), part of the Rs 2,400 crore LNJ Bhilwara Group.
Goldman Sachs, one of the largest investors in the world, has been upping the ante for its India portfolio. The fund is aggressively looking at investment opportunities in India, particularly in the real estate sector.
Source: Economic Times