American investment management company Blackstone has acquired the commercial portfolio of realty developer Prestige Group including offices, retail malls and hotel assets for $1.5 billion. The deal will see Blackstone acquire over 16.8 million sq ft of completed and under-construction office projects and retail malls including hospitality assets. Blackstone will also acquire solar power plants, which will generate energy for these assets, once they are completed,” said one of the sources.
Blackstone will enter a joint venture with the Bangalore-based realty company for under-development office and retail projects making it the “largest real estate portfolio transaction,” the report said.
Office assets acquired include Amazon, Cisco, Juniper, and Walmart among its key tenants in Bengaluru. Shopping malls are a part of the retail portfolio. As part of the acquisition, Blackstone will have five completed office complexes and nine retail malls in Bengaluru, Chennai, and Ahmedabad, and four office development sites of which three are located in Bengaluru, the report said. It includes two hotels and solar power plants to fulfill the energy requirements.
“Following this acquisition, Blackstone-owned Nexus Malls will manage the day-to-day operations of the retail portfolio, while the firm’s real estate platform Nucleus Office Parks will manage the operations of the office projects,” said another source. Blackstone will reportedly control 100 per cent of the portfolio for Prestige Group’s completed and under construction projects decided for the acquisition.