Singapore-headquartered CapitaLand Investment (CLI) and its joint venture partner Maharashtra Industrial Development Corp (MIDC) have signed pacts to sell their stake in Ascendas IT Park (Pune) to CapitaLand India Trust for around ₹1,350 crore.
CLI and MIDC will divest their respective 78.5% and 21.5% shareholding in Ascendas IT Park that owns the International Technology Park in Pune’s Hinjewadi (ITPP-H) suburb.
ITPP-H will further enhance the portfolio of CapitaLand India Trust (CLINT), which is sponsored by CLI. It is an information technology special economic zone, developed on a 25-acre, 99-year leasehold plot. It has a total floor area of 2.3 million sq ft across four buildings. The facility is close to 100% leased to tenants such as Infosys, Synechron Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services.
“CLI’s proposed divestment of ITPP-H to CLINT is in line with our strategy to provide quality, stable-performing assets to support the growth of our sponsored trusts,” said Jonathan Yap, chief executive of listed funds at CLI. “Adding another top-class IT park to CLINT’s strong portfolio of eight IT parks enables CLI to participate in CLINT’s growth in India, which is one of CLI’s core markets. The proposed divestment would increase our funds under management and fee-related earnings.”
With this transaction, according to him, CLI has announced gross divestments of S$2.9 billion of assets year-to-date, close to its annual capital recycling target of S$3 billion. Almost 90% of these divestments were made to the group’s listed funds and private vehicles.
The sale consideration represents a premium of 9% to CLI’s valuation for ITPP-H in December 2021. The divestment of ITPP-H is subject to CLINT’s unitholders’ approval at an extraordinary general meeting and is targeted to be completed by February 2023.
CLI has a pipeline of about S$10 billion of properties on its balance sheet, which it can potentially offer to its various fee income-generating listed funds and private vehicles, he added.
