Unitech to raise $500 Mn. from Lehman, Deutsche Bank

Lehman Brothers & Deutsche Bank will invest $500 Mn. in a Unitech SPV.

A source suggests talks are in advanced stage for two commercial projects at Santa Cruz (Mumbai), for developable office space of 2Mn. Sq.Ft. The deal might close in 3 weeks.

This project will be a Unitech first in Mumbai, as the firm gets aggressive outside NCR, it's home zone.

Poor market conditions, and reducing funding options have been hard on realestate companies, but everyone loves a good deal.

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Reality Major's REIT plans delayed

IndiaBulls RealEstate and Unitech Ltd. have put their Singapore REIT plans on hold siting volatile market conditions. DLF may follow too.

Unitech, IBREALEST & DLF had lined up a $0.5Bn,$1Bn & $1.5Bn. offer. Unitech and IBREALEST were exploring private placement, according to Business Standard. DLF too might delay the offer or go for $500Mn. private placement.

Indian developers, hit by soaring land costs and curbs on bank loans, are looking to tap REITs, which are not yet allowed in India, although draft guidelines for them were issued in December.

Read the article on Mint

Goldman, Unitech to set up real estate SPV

Global investment bank Goldman Sachs and real estate company Unitech are jointly setting up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for investments in the real estate sector. The special purpose vehicle is expected to have a corpus of Rs. 900 crores. Goldman Sachs is likely to have 33% equity valued at Rs. 300 crores. The balance Rs. 600 crores will be brought in by Unitech, in the form of cash as well as land bank.

Unitech is particularly bullish on developing real estate projects in the National Capital Region (NCR), areas around Mumbai, near Bangalore’s under-construction international airport and some areas in close proximity to various ongoing special economic zone (SEZ) projects. The SPV may also look at investing in greenfield residential and commercial projects in tier II and III cities. The deal is expected to be signed in the next one month.

Unitech is the largest listed real estate company in India with a market capitalization of Rs. 37,406.62 crores. The company has real estate projects, both residential and commercial, across the country. Unitech is also developing two SEZs in West Bengal and Haryana. Last year, Goldman Sachs had announced that it would make investments of $1 bn in private equity, real estate, private wealth management and other businesses in India for its institutional clients in the next couple of years. As part of its India strategy, Goldman Sachs had announced that it will start its own investment banking, asset management, and securities businesses. The financial services giant recently got a license from SEBI for its retail broking operations.

Read The Economic Times article.