Bharti Realty in talks with Brookfield, Blackstone to sell properties in Delhi, Gurgaon | Economic Times

KOLKATA | MUMBAI: Bharti Realty, the real estate arm of Bharti Enterprises, is in talks with Canada's Brookfield and US-based private equity firm Blackstone, among others, to sell some of its upscale commercial property near Delhi airport and in Gurgaon, said people aware of the matter."Bharti Realty's commercial real estate in the three Worldmark towers in Delhi Aerocity and another in Gurgaon are on offer," said one of them. "Discussions had transpired with Brookfield and Blackstone, among a clutch of global PE, fund houses." Another executive said, "Brookfield is the clear frontrunner for the deal."A property consultant pegged the value of Bharti Realty's commercial property assets in Delhi Aerocity and Gurgaon at $800 million-$1 billion based on current rental trends.A Bharti Group spokesperson said, "As a policy, we don't comment on market speculation." Brookfield said it "won't be able to offer any comment." Blackstone also declined to comment.Prime propertiesBharti Realty got 900,000 square metres of prime land in Delhi Aerocity in March 2019 from Delhi International Airport (DIAL) on a 99-year lease to undertake development. Most of the land is unused. The company owns the Gurgaon property.The Aerocity Worldmark towers have about 1.5 million sq ft of ready space, comprising office and retail components of 1.2 million sq ft and 0.3 million sq ft, respectively, said people aware of the matter. The Worldmark property in Gurgaon has 0.76 million sq ft - 0.5 million sq ft of office space and 0.26 million sq ft of retail space. 79294571Monetising for telecomProperty consultants said the monthly lease rental at the Aerocity Worldmark is about Rs 200 per sq ft and it is almost fully occupied by tenants such as International Finance Corporation, Accenture, Sumitomo Corp and EY Global.Insiders said Bharti may use a portion of proceeds from any property deal in its telecom business, especially as flagship Bharti Airtel still needs to pay Rs 25,976 crore toward adjusted gross revenue dues. It also has to buy spectrum in the upcoming auctions, likely in early 2021, besides investing in expanding data network. Bharti Airtel has raised $8 billion in the past few years to strengthen its balance sheet, through stake sales in the company and its units. Going forward, Bharti Realty may even monetise a chunk of its prime land parcels near the Delhi airport, though that isn't part of the ongoing discussions with Brookfield, Blackstone and other global PE investors, said the people cited above.Bharti's talks with Brookfield come on the heels of the Toronto-based investor acquiring Bengaluru-based realty developer RMZ Corp's 12.5-million square feet, income-producing assets for over $2 billion (Rs 15,000 crore) in the largest-ever realty portfolio deal concluded in India. Brookfield Asset Management has filed its draft prospectus with the market regulator to raise up to $600 million through the listing of its real estate investment trust (REIT). It is looking to list the REIT by mid-December or early January.