Adani Group is in advanced talks with Dubai-based developer Emaar Group to acquire a majority stake in its Indian business for ₹4,000-5,000 crore, two people aware of the matter said.
“It (the deal) will be for 70-100% ownership acquisition in Emaar India. Most of the projects (of Emaar) are at prime locations, which promises superior valuations,” one of the two people said, adding the acquisition is likely to be done by Adani Realty, an unlisted company.
“The valuation for the deal is yet to be finalized, but it should be at least around ₹5,000 crore. A lot will depend on negotiations on the final terms,” the person said on the condition of anonymity.
If the deal goes through, it will be Adani’s largest purchase in real estate, where it has made several acquisitions in the last few years.
Emaar India is promoted by Dubai-based Emaar Properties PJSC, which built and owns Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building standing at 828-metre.
In 2016, Emaar’s Indian joint venture Emaar MGF Land Ltd split into two entities, with Emaar India Ltd and MGF Developments Ltd holding 60.11% and 39.89% stakes in their existing properties. After this, Emaar India has developed its own new portfolio of residential and commercial spaces across Delhi-NCR, Mohali, Lucknow, Indore and Jaipur.
“As a policy, we do not respond to rumours or market speculation. We decline to comment,” said an Emaar India spokesperson. An Adani Group spokesperson declined to comment.
According to the person cited earlier, Adani Realty, which is promoted by billionaire Gautam Adani’s family, will fund the acquisition privately through Adani family wealth and not from the books of any of its listed companies.
Bid for Jaypee Group
Adani Realty, which operates predominantly in Mumbai and western India, is keen on expanding its footprint in the country’s prime northern regions. For this, the group has also engaged in talks to acquire real estate assets of Jaypee Group.
In July, Mint reported that Adani Group plans to bid for the bankrupt Jaypee Group’s vast apartment complexes, villas and golf courses in the National Capital Region, in an effort to make a grand entry into the country’s biggest property market through the insolvency court. According to two people cited in the report, Adani planned to spend up to $1 billion for the real estate assets of Jaypee, the country’s biggest bankruptcy case involving more than ₹50,000 crore in bank loans.
Like Jaypee, Emaar India owns several popular residential and commercial properties in Northern India which include Emaar Emerald Hills, Emaar Digi Homes, Emaar Imperial Gardens, URBAN OASIS, Emaar Business District 83, Marbella Villas, Palm Drive, Gurgaon Greens, Palm Springs, Emaar Business District 89, Continental City, Premier Terraces and Jaipur Greens Savana.
In November, it launched Amaris, a luxury residential project at Sector 62 in Golf Course Extension Road micro market in Gurugram at an investment of ₹1,000 crore.
Just a month earlier, Emaar India, which recorded a total income of ₹2,756.6 crore in FY24, up from ₹1,765.8 crore in FY23, entered the real estate market in Mumbai with a holiday home project in Alibaug.
On the other hand, Adani Realty, housed under family-promoted Adani Properties, has revenues in excess of ₹6,000 crore as of March 2024, the second person said. The actual numbers are not public.
Adani Realty projects
Adani Realty, which was launched around 14 years ago, has intensified its real estate project activities over the past four years, especially in the residential space in Mumbai.
Apart from undertaking the controversial Dharavi slum redevelopment project worth at least ₹40,000 crore, it is aggressively bidding for acquiring assets directly and from the insolvency court. In 2021, Adani Group acquired Radius Estates and Developers, which will enable Adani Realty to co-develop a major luxury residential project in Bandra East in a partnership.
Adani Realty is also redeveloping a 24-acre sea-facing plot Mumbai’s Bandra Reclamation area, which has a gross development value of ₹30,000 crore.
Apart from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Adani Realty has projects in Pune, Ahmedabad and Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR). The project portfolio totals 200 million sq. ft, of which around 23 million sq. ft is developed, and over 40 million sq. ft. is under development. These projects position Adani Realty against the likes of DLF Ltd, Prestige Group, Godrej Properties Ltd and Macrotech Developers Ltd.
Besides, the Adani Group also operates the Mumbai airport and is building the Navi Mumbai International Airport.
To be sure, Emaar India has been embroiled in a legal dispute with MGF Developments ever since they parted ways. According to the auditors of Emaar India, litigation is pending before the Company law tribunal and the International Court of Arbitration, London.
On 30 August, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had provisionally attached immovable properties spanning 401 acres and worth ₹834.03 crore belonging to Emaar India Ltd and MGF Developments Ltd. The properties are located in Gurugram, Haryana, and Delhi.
While the litigation may not have a direct impact on the size of the potential deal between Adani and Emaar, in the event of any adverse court verdict, it may have some influence on the earnings from Emaar’s India projects, said one of the two persons cited above.
