Singapore sovereign fund GIC has acquired a 50 per cent stake in Viviana Mall in Thane, near Mumbai, for more than Rs1000 crore (US$150 million).
Both GIC and mall developer Sheth Corp have been in talks for six months, according to the Business Standard. It quotes an executive anonymously as saying GIC is expected to hold the property and not go for a REIT (real estate investment trust) as it has perpetual capital.
Investors, including Blackstone and Xander, had also been interested in buying the mall, but Sheth Corp did not agree to outright sale, says the report.
GIC also holds a 50 per cent stake in Runwal Group‘s R City mall in the Ghatkopar area of Mumbai. With more than $100 billion in assets in more than 40 countries, GIC is one of the top 10 real-estate investors in the world. It bought a 40 per cent interest in five US malls last year as part of deals involving $5.4 billion worth of real estate.
Meanwhile, India’s largest developer, DLF, has sold its shopping mall in Saket in Delhi to a subsidiary for Rs 904 crore, and late last year, Blackstone acquired two retail assets of Gurgaon-based developer Alpha G, in Amritsar and Ahmedabad, for about Rs 800 crore.
