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Blackstone on May 10 announced that funds managed by Blackstone Real Estate have acquired Embassy Industrial Parks from Warburg Pincus and Embassy Group, in one of India’s largest logistics transactions worth Rs 5,250 crore.
Embassy Industrial Parks comprises 10.6 million square feet of modern Grade A logistics and warehousing assets near urban centres.
Blackstone is among the top 10 business groups in India by total value of assets and the transaction will help reinforce the firm’s leading position in office, retail and logistics, the company said.
Embassy Industrial Parks’ warehouses are located across major industrial hubs in India, including Bangalore, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, and Pune, and are leased to leading e-commerce and retail players.
“We are excited to announce this acquisition of a best-in-class logistics portfolio from Embassy Industrial Parks. Logistics is one of the firm’s highest global conviction themes, anchored by our belief that e-commerce trends will further fuel demand for logistics space especially near city centers,” said Asheesh Mohta, head of Blackstone’s Real Estate India Acquisitions.
This is particularly true in India, where e-commerce is in its nascent stage of development and has tremendous opportunities driven by positive trends in urbanisation, domestic consumption, and the emerging retail sector, which remains heavily underpenetrated, compared to major economies around the world, Mohta said.
Since 2010, Blackstone has acquired more than 1.2 billion square feet of logistics.
Tuhin Parikh, Blackstone’s head of Real Estate India, said: “We are committed to growing our presence in India. For the past 16 years, we’ve been partnering with local developers and governments to transform assets and businesses, and help communities prosper. We’ve successfully launched the country’s first two REITs, with the very first Embassy Office Parks REIT marking its second-year anniversary this month, and recently announced the acquisition of a portfolio of commercial properties.”
“The partnership with Warburg Pincus has been extremely valuable to us and they will remain our trusted partners. This transaction between Embassy Group and Blackstone further strengthens and reinforces our partnership,” said Jitu Virwani, chairman and managing director of Embassy Group, said.
Virwani further said they were extremely focused on consolidating their resources towards the growth of their core businesses of office and residential development and management.
“This transaction with Blackstone Real Estate along with the upcoming merger with IBREL is a strategic move in that direction,” the chairman added.
Blackstone is a global leader in real estate investing. Blackstone’s real estate business was founded in 1991 and has $196 billion of investor capital under management. Blackstone is one of the largest property owners in the world, owning and operating assets across every major geography and sector, including logistics, multifamily and single family housing, office, hospitality and retail.
Founded in 1993, Embassy Group is one of India’s largest real estate conglomerates with a broad portfolio of over 62 million sq. ft. of prime commercial, residential and industrial space in India.
