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Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative assets manager, aims to sell Embassy Office Parks REIT units worth $257 million through a block trade, said two people requesting anonymity.
‘The trade is happening in a price band of Rs 340-350 per unit, which is a discount of 3.5-6.7 per cent to the closing price of Tuesday,’ said one of the persons mentioned above. The sale represents a 7 per cent stake of the real estate investment trust (REIT). At present, Blackstone holds a 55 per cent stake in the REIT. The sale of the REIT units comes after media reports on Friday that IBM was considering the termination of leases for nearly half of its office space in India amid increasing acceptance of flexible working options. IBM refuted the reports.
IBM is the single largest tenant for Embassy REIT, contributing nearly 12 per cent to its rental revenue, according to the company’s filings with the stock exchanges.
According to the company’s initial public offering filings in 2019, IBM had leased 3.6 million square feet of office space from Embassy REIT as on 31 December 2018.
The Embassy REIT management had said that while work-from-home has worked well for companies during the lockdown period, in the long run, it does not see a major impact on its business. ‘It is clear that a significant reduction in the densities of the workplace is coming, given the increased priority to employee wellness, and this will drive demand,’ said Michael Holland, chief executive officer, Embassy Office Parks REIT.
