Ascendas India Trust (a-iTrust) will acquire 1.65 million sq ft area at an IT park in Bengaluru, Karnataka, for an estimated deal value of Rs 1,441 crore.
Ascendas Property Fund Trustee, the Trustee-Manager of a-iTrust, has entered into a forward purchase agreement with Gardencity Realty to acquire two buildings in an IT Park with a total net leasable area of up to 1.65 million sqft located at Hebbal, Bengaluru.
a-iTrust will provide funding for development of the project as part of the forward purchase arrangement. It will subsequently acquire a net leasable area of up to 1.65 million sqft in two buildings spread across two land parcels.
Initially, and during the construction period, a-iTrust's investment in the construction of the project will be through debt. a-iTrust will provide funding towards development of the project of about Rs 828 crore.
Upon the project obtaining the occupancy certificate and fulfillment of other key conditions, a-iTrustwill purchase 100 percent of the shares of the two entities developing the project.
The total purchase consideration for the transaction will depend on certain factors, including final rentals achieved, and is currently estimated to be Rs 14.41 billion.
As a result of the acquisition of these two IT buildings, a-iTrust's portfolio size (including pipeline projects) will increase by 7.2 percent from 23.2 million sqftto 24.9 million sq ft.
a-iTrust may also develop and acquire land or uncompleted developments primarily to be used as business space, with the objective of holding the properties upon completion.
a-iTrust's portfolio comprises seven world-class IT business parks and one logistics park in India. It is structured as a business trust, offering stable income distributions similar to a real estate investment trust (REIT).