Realty developer Oberoi RealtyNSE -0.49 % is in talks with air-conditioning and commercial refrigeration company Blue Star India to acquire its 9-acre land parcel in Thane on an outright basis, said two persons with direct knowledge of the development.
The land parcel is located on Thane’s Pokhran Road II next to the GlaxoSmithKlineNSE -0.11 % Pharmaceuticals’ 60-acre land parcel Oberoi Realty acquired last year for Rs 555 crore. The developer is planning to combine the Blue StarNSE -0.22 % India land parcel with the GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals plot.
“The deal is expected to be concluded soon. The plot is expected to fetch anything between Rs 120 crore and Rs 150 crore, given the benchmarks set by recent transactions in the vicinity,” said one of the persons mentioned above.
In 2015, Blue Star had introduced a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for its workmen at the Thane plant. It had then announced that this plant had become non-viable due to various reasons such as high-cost of manufacturing, including local body tax (LBT), leading to incurring losses for the four years before that. The plant was closed with effect from August 10, 2015.
“We had recently invited bids for this land parcel. As per the process, we are currently negotiating with the interested parties, although nothing has been finalised yet,” Blue Star joint managing director B Thiagarajan told ET. “The company is negotiating with at least three more entities apart from Oberoi Realty for this land parcel.” ET’s email query to Oberoi Realty remained unanswered till the time of going to press.
The money realised will be used for expansion of the company’s manufacturing facilities, research & development and digital enterprise initiatives, Thiagarajan said, while adding the consideration for the land parcel would be higher than Rs 150 crore.
For the half-year ended September 30, Blue Star reported 12% rise in net profit at ? 111.13 crore, while revenue grew 7% to Rs 2,540 crore.
Given the high land prices and saturation in Mumbai, several developers have ventured into neighbouring Thane. Many large developers, including Hiranandani Constructions, Lodha Developers, Wadhwa Group, Runwal Group, Rustomjee and Tata Housing, are already executing realty projects there.
In May, Kalpataru emerged as the highest bidder for an 8-acre plot of Mondelez India, formerly Cadbury India, on Thane’s Pokhran Road 1, with its bid price of Rs 282 crore. Last week, Godrej Properties, along with Godrej Fund Management, acquired a 4-acre land parcel on Ghodbunder Road in Thane.
Source: Economic Times