Singapore-based asset manager Keppel with assets under management valued at about S$65 billion (Rs 4.11 trillion), has completed the acquisition of a commercial office building based in Chennai, according to a press statement.
The grade A office building, developed by India-based RMZ Corp and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), was acquired for about $264 million.
The building, One Paramount 1 is part of One Paramount, a prime office asset located in Chennai, developed by the joint venture between RMZ Corp and CPPIB. The building is spread across 12.6 acres of land with 2.4 million square feet leasable space.
The asset comprises three modern office towers, with tenants including a mix of players including DOW Chemicals, Nielsen IQ, UPS, Maersk, Bechtel, Genpact, Hitachi Energy and VMware, among others.
"India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and an important market for us in Asia. We have been able to capture the country's growth opportunities in the real estate sector through our partnership with RMZ. The sale of One Paramount 1 represents an opportunity to monetize a quality asset to deliver returns to the CPP Fund," said Hari Krishna, the managing director and head of real estate at CPPIB.
The net proceeds to the Canadian investor from the divestment will be about $52 million.
As part of their partnership, RMZ and CPP Investments will continue to hold stakes in additional core and under development commercial assets spread across five cities with a total area of about 12.5 million square feet. Other office assets developed under the partnership include RMZ Nexity and RMZ Spire in Hyderabad.
The participation of foreign private equity investors in India’s real estate was at about 90% in the April-June quarter, which was on a declining trend after having peaked in the first quarter of FY22, according to a report by Anarock Capital.
Last year, VCCircle reported that the Singapore-based investor was looking to ramp up its presence in India’s market through the launch of its alternative investment fund (AIF). In June, it had also topped up its investment in co-working space provider Smartworks. The company had raised about Rs 168 crore from a clutch of investors including Keppel.
