INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - March 16th - March 31th - 2008
DEUTSCHE BANK ACQUIRES 40% IN REALTY FIRM FOR $80M
Deutsche Bank (DB) has picked up close to 40% stake in Ramprastha Promoters and Developers, a company owned by Delhi-based Ramprastha group, for $80 million. Ramprastha Promoters and Developers is primarily engaged in developing housing projects in the national capital region (NCR).
Confirming the deal, Ramprastha group director Arvind Walia said: “We signed the agreement with Deutsche Bank recently.” Mr Walia didn’t specify the stake Deutsche Bank has bought, but he said it was less than 40%. Ernst & Young advised Ramprastha on the deal.
Earlier, Deutsche Bank had picked up around 25% stake in a special purpose vehicle owned by Mumbai-based developer Lodha Group for Rs 1,700 crore last year in the country’s largest private equity deal in real estate sector.
Ramprastha Promoters and Developers is developing a 200 acre township in Gurgaon. The land for the project has already bee acquired. The real estate group promoted by Balwant Singh and family has take up several housing projects in NCR. The developer has completed two township projects-110 acre Ramprastha Colony and 80 acre Rampuri in Ghaziabad and is implementing another 100 acre township in the same area.
Last year, the group had received foreign funding from South Asian Real Estate (SARE), a private equity fund based out of the Isle of Man. The real estate developer formed a 50:50 joint venture with the PE fund to implement a 150 acre township. The project will develop 11 million sq.ft of residential housing, commercial and IT parks. The Ramprastha group also entered into an equal joint venture with Gurgaon-based engineering company Punj Lloyd. The JV company is developing over 29.5 acre township in Vaishali, Ghaziabad.
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