SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – Ascendas India Trust (a-iTrust) will spend about 14.41 billion rupees (S$268.2 million) to acquire two buildings in an IT park located in Hebbal, Bangalore, as part of a forward purchase agreement with Gardencity Realty.
The total purchase consideration depends on certain factors, including final rentals achieved, the trustee-manager said in a bourse filing on Monday.
The two buildings are part of a project comprising three buildings spread across two land parcels with an aggregate net leasable area (NLA) of about 2.26 million square feet (sq ft).
a-iTrust proposed to provide 8.28 billion rupees to fund the development of the project and subsequently acquire an NLA of up to 1.65 million sq ft in the two buildings spread across two land parcels.
The business trust’s investment in the construction of the project will be through debt in the initial stage and construction period. The forward purchase acquisition will take place after construction is completed, subject to the receipt of the occupancy certificate for the project and other key conditions.
Sanjeev Dasgupta, chief executive of the trustee-manager, said: “The proposed acquisition will provide an opportunity to establish our presence in Hebbal, one of Bangalore’s upcoming IT/ITES micro-markets, which is currently witnessing stable demand and rent.”
After a-iTrust acquires the two IT buildings, its portfolio size, including pipeline projects, will rise by 7.2 per cent to about 24.9 million sq ft, from about 23.2 million sq ft.