Siemens is now in talks with developers Hiranandani Upscale and Nitesh Estates after its proposed sale of an eight-acre factory land in Bangalore to RMZ Corp missed deadline, said sources close to the development. The Indian unit of the German engineering giant was scheduled to offload the asset in a Rs.410 crore deal with RMZ on or before March 31.
According to Sources Siemens has called on Hiranandani and Nitesh Estates for fresh discussions even as RMZ Corp sought for more time. RMZ MD Raj Menda said his firm still had an agreement in place with Siemens and the latter could not talk to new suitors at the moment.
A Siemens spokesperson denied the company has entered into sale contract with any developer on divestment of the factory land located in south Bangalore. “We have received bids from several parties and are evaluating it. Beyond this, we will not comment on market speculation,” the spokesperson added.
It is believed RMZ wanted more time to complete the transaction saying that the land in question had unresolved notification and FSI issues. However, Siemens preferred to offload the asset without further delay. Siemens has been offloading some of its real estates assets in Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune as part of its value optimization strategy.
It is not clear whether Hiranandani and Nitesh would match the price offered by RMZ or whether Siemens would be open to divesting the land at a lower price in the wake of the latest developments. In February, Siemens India shares perked up following media reports that the company had clinched a deal with RMZ as part of the real estate value unlocking move. On Wednesday, the Siemens stock ended 5.60% up at Rs.888. Siemens got the eight-acre land in Koramangla of Bangalore following the merger of Siemens VDO Automotive with itself in 2005.
