(ASK PIA), the real estate private equity arm of the ASK Group, made the fourth investment from its second real estate fund as it put in close to Rs 100 crore (around $18.2 million) into Shriram Properties’ residential project in Bangalore.
ASK PIA invested in Walton Street Capital and Starwood Capital-backed Shriram Properties’ upcoming 16 acre residential project off Sarjapur Road. The funding has gone to the special purpose vehicle undertaking the project for building villas and low-rise apartments.
Sunil Rohakale, CEO and managing director of ASK Investment Holdings, said, “We have done a total of 11 investments, of which two investments have gone to Bangalore within a gap of a week. This is the first time we have entered the Bangalore realty market and we have managed to close two transactions in this month. We believe that the real estate market in Bangalore is a sustainable market and it is one of the most affordable cities in India.”
According to ASK, the project is expected to have a sales value of around Rs 700 crore.
Commenting on the investment, M Murli, MD of Shriram Properties, said, “This 16 acre land parcel is strategically located off Sarjapur Road and targets the middle income demand, with the right mix of villas and apartments.”
Recently, Bangalore has seen a lot of action from private equity funds, with Reliance Capital investing Rs 40 crore in Century Real Estate’s project through the subscription of non-convertible debentures (NCDs).
Traditionally, ASK has a track record of making investment per quarter. But this year, the fund is looking to undertake 5-6 investments within a year’s time and wants to utilise nearly 80 per cent of the second domestic fund.
ASK Group, which will go on road to raise its first offshore real estate fund of nearly $200-250 million, is at present managing domestic real estate funds of more than Rs 1,300 crore. The latest investment came from Rs 1,000 crore raised through the ASK Real Estate Special Opportunities Fund in 2012. The fund has already made three investments – two in Mumbai (Rajesh Builders and Godrej Properties) and one in Bangalore (Mantri Developers Pvt Ltd).
(Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal)