Xander Group’s retail arm Virtuous Retail South Asia Pte. Ltd is close to buying an upcoming mall in Mumbai from real estate firm Omkar Realtors and Developers Ltd for ₹2,300 crore, three people aware of the transaction said.
The proposed 1 million sq. ft mall in Mumbai’s Andheri East will be developed by the Mumbai-based builder as part of its 65-acre mixed used development Omkar International District (OID).
“The companies are entering into a forward purchase agreement. Term sheets of the deal have already been signed,” said the first of the three persons, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity. As per the agreement, Virtuous Retail will buy the property at a set price once Omkar Realtors completes it.
Launched in November 2017, the mixed-used development started construction on its residential part earlier this year. According to the second person, construction on the commercial part, which includes the mall, will commence in the next three-four months.
A Virtuous Retail spokesperson declined to comment on the transaction, while email queries to Omkar Realtors remained unanswered.
While 60% of the development is likely to be residential, the rest will have commercial space, including for retail, hospitality and office use.
Virtuous Retail has been on an expansion mode over the past two years. The firm’s retail portfolio stands at 5.5 million sq. ft. It operates three malls across Surat and Bengaluru. In May 2017, the company had acquired North Country Mall in Chandigarh from private equity fund Sun Apollo and US-based JJ Gumberg for ₹700 crore. The acquisition marked its entry to north India. The 2 million-sq. ft. North Country Mall is one of the largest malls in Punjab. Dutch pension fund APG Asset Management NV has invested $175 million in Virtuous Retail to fund its acquisitions and new project developments. The past year has seen several private equity firms and developers looking to buy out shopping malls and land to expand their retail realty portfolios. Mumbai-based mall developer Phoenix Mills Ltd has also been on an acquisition spree. In June, it had bought an under-construction mall in Indore for ₹234 crore, followed by another under-construction mall in Lucknow for ₹453 crore.
Source: Mint