Citigroup is buying a minority stake in Indian real estate firm Nitesh Estates, a newspaper reported on Tuesday, but a source familiar with the matter said no deal had been done.
The Economic Times, quoting unidentified sources, reported that a fund run by the U.S. bank's property investment arm, Citigroup Property Investors, was investing around $250 million.
It would pick up a minority stake in Nitesh Estates and hold stakes in individual special purpose vehicles to build at least five luxury hotels, the paper said.
But a source told Reuters: “Citigroup has not taken a stake in Nitesh”, although the two were working with other developers on a US$100 million luxury hotel in Bangalore.
A spokesman for Citigroup in India did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the report. Nitesh Estates declined to comment, the Economic Times said.
David Schaefer, the Asia head of Citigroup Property Investors, told Reuters in an interview in April the unit was investing around $400 million of a recently raised fund in India.( Reuters)