DLF, India’s largest real estate company, will sell its shareholding in two IT SEZs in Pune and Noida, for a combined value of Rs.1,300 crore, as it steps up the disposal of non-core assets to pay down debt of almost $5 billion. Two partners, Ackruti City and The 3C Company, will also exit.
Blackstone is likely to buy the IT SEZ in Pune for Rs.900 crore, while a high net worth investor will buy the Noida IT Park for Rs.400 crore. Terming the report in a section of media as speculation, a DLF spokesperson said, “We have already outlined our medium-term strategy on unlocking of non-core assets. We have nothing further to add on any specific transaction at this juncture.” Other stake holders similarly didn’t respond to the query.
According to the sources the transactions have not yet closed. DLF’s has a 70% stake in each of the two properties. Ackruti City is a co-promoter in the Pune venture, while The 3C Company is a partner in the Noida IT park both with 30% each. Both partners are selling their stakes.
The two sales are in line with DLF’s strategy to divest non-core assets. The company had said last month that it plans to sell developed assets, including IT Parks and its hotels business and raise about Rs.7,000 crore over the next two years to reduce its debt. DLF’s net debt at the end of March was close to Rs.24,000 crore.
The DLF-Ackruti IT SEZ in Pune’s Hinjewadi area has a total area of 5 million sq ft of which 1.8 million is currently operational. It has prominent tenants such as Cognizant Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Barclays and Novalis.
Another 3.3 million sq ft is under construction at the moment. “The sale will include both leased and under construction portions of the IT SEZ,” said the source. The IT Park in Noida has a total of 1.3 million sq ft with Computer Sciences Corporation as the marquee tenant. The building is currently not fully occupied. DLF had initially planned to raise Rs.4,500 crore from sale of its non-core assets. In a recent presentation, it has said that it now plans to raise Rs.10,000 crore in the next 2-3 years. It has already raised Rs.3,000 crore over the last 18 months.
