India’s first real estate investment trust (REIT) — Embassy Office Parks REIT— on Friday raised ₹1,743 crore by allocating units to institutional investors as part of its so-called anchor book allocation of its initial public offering (IPO), according to stock exchange filings.
Embassy Office Parks REIT, backed by global private equity Blackstone Group LP and Bengaluru-based developer Embassy Property Developments Pvt. Ltd, plans to raise ₹4,750 crore (including the anchor allocation) from its 18-20 March IPO, the largest so far this year.
The anchor book is that part of an IPO that bankers can allot to institutional investors on a discretionary basis. Anchor book subscriptions open a day before the launch of an IPO and are seen as a gauge of institutional investor interest.
The REIT allocated units to institutional investors at ₹300 apiece, the upper end of the price band of ₹299-300.
The anchor book was largely dominated by foreign institutional investors (FIIs).
Funds of investors such as Fidelity International, Capital Group, TT International, Schroders and others bought the REIT’s units.
On the domestic side, the anchor book saw participation from Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Co. Ltd and the family office of Radhakishan Damani, the promoter of Avenue Supermarts Ltd that runs the D-Mart chain of supermarkets.
Mint had on Friday reported that Fidelity, Schroders, TT International and Kotak Life Insurance were among the investors seeking to invest in the Embassy REIT IPO’s anchor book allocation.
Embassy REIT’s portfolio comprised about 33 million sq.ft of office space across seven office parks and four prime city-centre office buildings as of 31 December.
It includes strategic amenities, such as two completed and two under-construction hotels totalling 1,096 rooms, food courts, and employee transportation and childcare facilities. The REIT’s portfolio has an occupancy rate of 95% and more than 160 blue-chip tenants. Office properties that are part of the REIT offering include the Express Towers at Nariman Point in South Mumbai and First International Finance Centre in the Bandra Kurla Complex.
This article was first published on livemint.com