Blackstone and Sattva Group set to file papers for $750-800 million REIT listing

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 World’s largest alternative asset manager Blackstone Inc and real estate developer Sattva Group are close to filing the initial draft papers for the listing of an office real estate investment trust (REIT), comprising around 50 million square feet of commercial assets, to raise around $750-800 million, sources said.

Blackstone’s assets under its office platform Nucleus Office Parks and those developed jointly with the Sattva group will form the portfolio for the REIT. Sources indicated that the filing of the draft prospectus is imminent, and the aim is to go for a listing early next fiscal year.

Blackstone declined to comment, while the Sattva group did not respond to a request for comment.

Currently under Nucleus Office Parks, Blackstone has a portfolio of 20 million square feet, while with Sattva it has a joint portfolio of 32 msf of which 18 msf is completed.

Under Nucleus Parks, it has 14 properties across five cities – Mumbai, Gurugram, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad. Five of the properties such as One BKC, One International Centre, Prima Bay are located in Mumbai while in Bengaluru it owns assets such as One Trade Tower and Cessna Business Park.

The joint projects between Blackstone and Sattva include Knowledge City and Knowledge Park in Hyderabad and Sattva Global City in Bengaluru. Sattva  Global (formerly Village Tech Park) is a green tech park and was acquired from Coffee Day Enterprises. It is majority owned by Blackstone.

The proposed Blackstone-Sattva REIT is one of the most awaited, as it is expected to be the largest in terms of funds raised and also the one with the largest portfolio. Embassy Office Parks REIT, listed in 2019, has a portfolio of around 45 msf, followed by Mindspace Business Parks REIT, which has over 33 msf.

Blackstone has been responsible for the inception and evolution of REITs in India, having been a co-sponsor in Embassy and Mindspace REITs while it was the main sponsor of Nexus Select Trust, in which it held 22.3 per cent stake at the end of September.