INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - FEBRUARY 2007
The Month that was ...

DEUTSCHE IN EMAAR-MGF

DEUTSCHE Bank's New York-based real estate arm-RREEF-is in advanced talks with realty major Emaar-MGF for investing around $200 million in the company.

If the transaction goes through, it could turn out to be the biggest deal in the Indian real estate sector. So far, the largest PE transaction in the realty space has been Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund's $125-million investment in Oberoi Constructions. Since the transaction is likely to be a quasi-equity deal, the amount of stake Emaar-MGF will dilute is not known. As part of the mezzanine deal, RREEF will hold convertible debentures in the company.

"We are looking to raise equity in the company and are currently in advanced stages of discussions with several players, including RREEF. At this point, we cannot disclose any more details as the deal is still not closed. The final decision will be made over the next few weeks," a source in Emaar-MGF told ET.

RREEF is one of the biggest real estate investors in the world with over $65 billion in assets under management. It currently has seven separate funds around the world that invest in real estate and infrastructure.