Blackstone Said in Talks to Buy $1.5B in India Assets and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Indian appeal leads Asia’s real estate headlines today as the recent success of the Mindspace office park REIT appears to be sparking more private equity investment on the subcontinent.

A report in the Times of India sees Blackstone in discussions to acquire a $1.5 billion commercial portfolio while a separate story in the Economic Times has the US private equity giant competing with Canada’s Brookfield to buy up retail assets in the country.

Meanwhile, mainland China listings site Beike is pricing its US IPO near the top of the range and a REIT sponsored by Singapore’s CDL has bought out its partners in a Spanish portfolio.

Blackstone Said Vying for $1.5B India Commercial Portfolio

Prestige Estates is in talks with US-based private equity firm Blackstone to sell a big portion of its commercial office portfolio and some malls for at least $1.5 billion as part of efforts to reduce debt, multiple people familiar with the matter said.

The deal, if concluded, would be one of the biggest this year in the real estate space, which has been struggling on account of the pandemic. Discussions are said to be at an advanced stage and the deal could be worth $1.5-1.8 billion. Read more>>

Brookfield, Blackstone Said Bidding for Indian Malls

Blackstone Group and Brookfield Asset Management are among private equity firms looking to buy stakes in Indian malls hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the Economic Times reported citing people it didn’t identify.

The investors are in talks to buy stakes in about six Indian malls including DB Mall and Logix Mall, for launching retail Reits. Chennai’s Marina Mall owners are also planning to exit the mall and are in discussions with Blackstone, Abdul Wadood, a promoter of the mall, told the newspaper. Read more>>

Tencent-Backed Beike Prices IPO at Up to $2B

KE Holdings Inc, a China-based real estate services provider backed by Tencent (0700.HK), said on Friday it will aim to raise up to $2 billion in its U.S. initial public offering.

The company, which owns real estate brokerage brand Lianjia and housing transactions platform Beike, said it would offer 106 million American depositary shares (ADS), priced between $17 and $19 a piece, and will list on the NYSE under the symbol “BEKE”. Read more>>

SG-Listed IREIT Global Buys Out Spanish Portfolio at €136M Valuation

IREIT Global on Friday announced its proposed acquisition of the balance 60 per cent interest of a Spanish portfolio from asset management and investment group Tikehau Capital, at an agreed market value of 136.4 million euro on a 100 per cent basis.

The portfolio consists of four freehold multi-tenanted office properties located in Madrid and Barcelona. It is currently held through a 40:60 joint venture by IReit and Tikehau Capital. Read more>>

Fallen WeWork CEO Neumann Puts Bay Area Estate on Market for $27.5M

Adam Neumann, ex-CEO of workspace-sharing behemoth WeWork, is ditching luxury real estate properties almost as fast as tenants are vacating desks at his embattled former company. The latest of his lavish homes to be jettisoned from his and his wife Rebekah Neumann’s flailing financial portfolio is a nearly 11-acre hilltop estate in the Bay Area.

Neumann hopes the listing price of $27.5 million will appeal to buyers looking for a nearly 14,000-square-foot compound with a total of seven bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms. Read more>>

SG Condo Resale Volume Nearly Doubles in July

Pent-up demand and a surge in HDB upgraders entering the market nearly doubled the resale volume of non-landed private homes in Singapore in July; 978 units were resold, up from the 496 units resold in June 2020.

Volumes were 10 per cent higher from a year ago and 9.3 per cent higher than the five-year average volumes for the month of July,going by flash figures from real estate portal SRX Property on Tuesday. Read more>>

Hong Kong Developers Shun Prime Consular Compound Amid Sino-US Spat

Many of Hong Kong’s biggest property tycoons are staying out of a keenly watched residential property sale by the US government to “stay onside”, as the asset becomes a “hot potato” amid worsening US-China relations.

Li Ka-shing’s CK Asset Holdings, the city’s second-largest developer, submitted an offer for 37 Shouson Hill Road, the company said in an email reply. Sun Hung Kai Properties, the city’s biggest, declined to comment on its position, while several of the city’s biggest builders are reported to have abstained from bidding on the prime site. Read more>>

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