Global investment firm The Xander Group Inc.’s private equity real estate arm has floated an industrial real estate platform for India with a corpus of $250 million to acquire logistics assets.
The real estate arm, Xander Investment Management Pte Ltd, raised capital from European institutional investors, it said in a statement. The investor have previously been limited partners in its funds.
Singapore-based Xander Investment said it will invest $250 million in high-quality assets over the next 12 months.
According to the statement, the platform has already acquired 2 million square feet of space in Mumbai and Chennai for about $85 million (Rs 600 crore). This portfolio is anchored by leading multinational and domestic corporations such as Amazon and TVS Logistics, the firm said.
Rohan Sikri, senior partner at Xander Group, said the firm has been investing in the industrial and logistics sector since 2007. “With the economy poised for retail, manufacturing and consumption growth, it is the opportune time for us to create a platform with like-minded investors that will execute a longer-term, targeted program,” he said.
Ram Reddy, managing director at Xander Advisors India, said the group has a strong presence in India’s real estate sector and that its exposure to the retail and industrial sectors positions it well to execute on the new platform.
Xander has been actively investing in India for 15 years. It has a portfolio of over 90 million square feet across all real estate asset classes, including office, retail, industrial, budget and luxury hotels, warehousing, and residential condominiums and townships.
India’s warehousing and logistics segment has gained favour among investors over the past few years thanks to factors such as the government’s decision to grant infrastructure status to the segment and implementation of the goods and service tax.
Many global firms have bet on the segment, either directly or through tie-ups with local developers.
For instance, the real estate arm of Morgan Stanley Investment Management recently bought a majority stake in a project of Gurgaon-based Pragati Warehousing. In February, it had bought a majority stake in KSH Infra Pvt. Ltd, a Pune-based industrial logistics park developer.
The Indian arm of global logistics player ESR has tied up with Future Group to develop warehousing parks. Warburg Pincus has formed a platform with Embassy Group to develop warehousing assets while Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has backed warehousing developer IndoSpace.