The Reit finally got the go-ahead after pro-business prime minister Narendra Modi resolved lingering uncertainty around the double taxation of Reits
India’s first real estate investment trust, backed by Blackstone and its local partner Embassy Group, will be listed in Mumbai before the end of February, sources with direct knowledge of the deal tell Euromoney.
It is expected to raise at least $1 billion, most of it from global institutions keen to invest in high-end commercial property.
“It will happen over the next three to four weeks,” says a Mumbai-based individual close to the deal. “They are going full throttle to get it done before March, so the next few weeks will be key. It’s going to be very exciting.”
Bankers are in the last throes of preparing a roadshow that will largely bypass India’s tier-one cities, and will instead visit Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, London and New York.
The primary offering was tipped to be finalised as late as the third quarter of the year, but promoters have decided to fast-track it, sources say, to complete before upcoming general elections, set to be held in India in April and May.
