Warburg Pincus set to invest Rs. 1,800 cr in Piramal Realty.

In one of the biggest foreign direct investment (FDI) deals in the Indian real estate sector, global private equity firm Warburg Pincus will invest Rs. 1,800 crore for a minority stake in Piramal Realty, the real estate development arm of Ajay Piramal Group.

In 1997, Warburg Pincus had invested in Piramal Healthcare.

The capital raised would be used to expand Piramal Realty’s portfolio and acquire marquee land parcels in and around Mumbai, the company said. Founded in 2011, Piramal Realty is based in Mumbai and has about 10 million sq ft under development in the prime areas of Byculla, Thane, Worli, the Bandra Kurla Complex and Mulund.

“Warburg Pincus was looking at an entity level investment in Indian real estate for the past 10-15 years. They could not find any… We did not need money earlier,” said Anand Piramal, executive director, Piramal group.

Ajay Piramal, chairman of the Piramal group, said, “Warburg Pincus’s investment and expertise will raise the level of real estate in India to international standards, as it has done in industries such as telecom, financial services and pharmaceuticals.”

BS