Goldman Sachs, Wachovia Bank and Bayer Capital have together acquired about 9% stake in Gurgaon-based real estate firm Vatika group for about $250 million. The fund infusion into the group from the three investors will be complete by March, 2008.
Vatika group also plans to hit the capital markets with an IPO early next year. The company will use proceeds from the PE placement and the IPO to part finance its ongoing development plans. The company has recently undertaken a 1200-acre integrated township project in Jaipur and is developing about 3.8 million square feet of residential projects in Gurgaon. Vatika Group has also got a board of approvals’ (BoA) clearance for developing a 53-acre IT special economic zone as part of its Jaipur township.
“The present infusion of funding into the company through world’s leading financial institutions shall help us in adding value to our existing projects, further consolidation of our land banks and acquisition of new projects at other locations in the country” said Vatika group director Gaurav Bhalla.
In its hospitality business, the company plans to diversify into the budget hotel category and is in talks for a management tie-up with the international budget hotel chain Aloft, part of the hospitality major Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
“We will start this project once we are done with a couple of ongoing hospitality projects,” Mr Bhalla said. The company is giving final touches to Westin Resorts and Spa, a 6.5 star property, and a 311-room business hotel in Gurgaon.
Vatika Group is also looking at tapping the international markets through its sister concern, Vatika Business Centre (VBC). The company is likely to start operations in Dubai and Singapore later this year.
At present, VBC operates four business centres in India : two in Gurgaon and one each in Pune and Hyderabad and will soon start two more centres in Chennai and Bangalore . “We are extremely bullish on this area of business because of the returns on offer. Of late, this has also attracted interest of almost all prominent developers in India ,” Mr Bhalla said.
Source: Economic Times