Goldman exits Bangalore Four Season property

Delhi/Ncr: Global private equity major Goldman Sachs has sold its entire 73 percent stake in City View Bangalore Properties to a JV floated by Blackstone and realty player Embassy Group for an undisclosed amount, exiting the project after several failed attempts since 2012.

Consultant firm J Sagar Associates, which advised Goldman, confirmed the deal but provided no details. Neither Goldman nor other PE funds could be immediately reached for comments.

City View Bangalore is building a hotel under Canada's Four Seasons brand besides apartments and offices in the garden city.

The Wall Street bellwether held 73 percent stake in City View Bangalore through its real estate unit Whitehall. The remaining 27 percent is held by Westcourt and Century Real Estate Holdings.

Whitehall is developing India's second Four Seasons hotel and residences on a 6.5-acre plot in the Karnataka capital, J Sagar Associates said in a statement today.

The American PE player had reportedly picked up the stake for Rs 450 crore, which includes the cost of the land.

The project comprises a 260-key hotel, 110 luxury branded apartments that will also be operated by the Canadian hospitality chain, 60,000 sq ft of retail space and 1.5 lakh sq ft of office space.

Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone and Infosys founders have reportedly bought homes in the Four Seasons residences coming up in Hebbal, a fast-developing northern suburb which lies en route to the international airport.

The project is a JV involving Goldman, the majority stakeholder, the London-based project developer Westcourt and Bangalore-based Century Real Estate Holdings, the land owner.

Corporate law firm Amarchand Mangaldas advised Embassy and Blackstone in the deal.

Earlier, Goldman was reportedly in talks with a host of entities and individuals for selling it stake. These included realty firms Prestige Group, K Raheja Corp, Nitesh Estates, RMZ and a few ultra HNIs along with PE groups such as Urban Infrastrucutre Opportunities Fund, and even Rana Kapoor, one of the promoters of Yes Bank, and NRI tycoon Ravi Pillai.

It was also reportedly talking to PE major Blackstone, GIC of Singapore and Tishman Speyer to sell its stake.

In June 2012, there were reports that Goldman was on the verge of closing the bids for exiting the property for about USD 100 million, but that effort failed. In September 2013, too, there were reports to the same effect.

The 1-million sq ft mixed use development has an enterprise valuation of about Rs 1,100 crore, of which around Rs 200 crore is debt.
 

Source:http://zeenews.india.com/business/realestate/latest-news/goldman-exits-bangalore-four-season-property_109564.html