Lehman Brothers to pick up stake in Unitech realty project

New Delhi: Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners would invest about Rs 740 crore to pick up 50 per cent stake in the initial phase of a Unitech project, located on the Western Expressway of Mumbai.

Unitech is jointly developing the project with its local Mumbai partners (the Western Expressway joint venture). “The initial phase entails development of 1 million square feet of office space, out of the total developable area of about 18 million square feet. Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners and the Western Expressway joint venture will each contribute 50 per cent of the construction costs,” a Unitech statement said.

The company further said that architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has been roped in to design the master plan for the broader project which envisions over 100 acre mixed-use development containing office, retail, residential and hotel components.

Unitech and Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners also plan to expand the relationship in the future by exploring investments in subsequent phases of the master project as well as in additional projects in Unitech’s Mumbai and national portfolio.

The infusion of fund is expected to come as relief to Unitech, which has held back its Qualified Institutional Placement plans, as also its listing of $700 million Singapore Real Estate Investment Trust due to poor market sentiment.

When contacted, a company spokesperson said that in view of the current market conditions, the REIT plans have been deferred for 5-6 months. However, he said, the REIT’s deferment would not have an impact on cash flow of Unitech as the money was to accrue to Unitech Corporate Parks, in any case.

Unitech’s shares on the BSE surged 5.63 per cent on Monday to Rs 197.80, over the previous closing of Rs 187.25.

The real estate sector has seen a surge in PE deals this year, with PE transactions worth $1,628 million stitched in the first four months of 2008, up 138 per cent over the year-ago period. According to an estimate, between January and April, the realty market saw 32 deals compared to 14 PE deals in the first four months of 2007.

Notable amongst 2008 deals were Citi Property Investors’ $160-million investment in four SEZ projects of BPTP Group, and US-based hedge fund Indus Capital Partners’ investment in the two special economic Zones of Uppal Group.