1. Gurgaon 99 plots
DLF has sold a 28-acre plot in Gurgaon to developer M3M India for Rs 440 crore, in the first
among many such big-ticket sales it has lined up this fiscal to bring down mounting debt. At
least two persons involved in the deal said the plot in Gurgaon has all approvals and
permission for a group housing project. M3M, which beat Tata Realty and Mahindra in the race
for the land, has already paid around Rs 150 crore to DLF.
The balance will be paid within a month. The source said M3M is financing this buy though
internal accruals.
A spokesperson for DLF declined to comment on the deal. But a senior company executive,
who refused to be named, confirmed the deal was sealed on Thursday. A spokesperson for
M3M said the company had been talking to DLF to buy the land, but did not confirm if the deal
had been closed. India biggest real estate company has been trying to sell a bunch of non-core
assets that includes land parcels, special economic zones and IT parks, and its Aman Hotels
chain, barring the marquee hotel in central Delhi, to raise around Rs 7,000 crore over the next
two years.
The proceeds will be used to reduce the company mounting debt, which stood at Rs 21,524
crore as on June 30, 2011. Rising interest rates have made debt reduction more difficult.
In the quarter ended June, the company stepped up efforts to sell non-core assets, and was
able to raise Rs 165 crore by selling smaller assets. Share sale in one IT park in Noida and one
SEZ in Pune, in which it has joint venture partners, is also expected to close this year.
Gurgaon 99 plots sale by DLF and co-promoters is expected to generate Rs 1,300 crore.
Blackstone is the likely buyer of the IT SEZ in Pune for Rs 900 crore while a private equity fund
is close to sealing the deal for the Noida IT Park for Rs 400 crore. M3M India, promoted by
Basant Bansal, has been operating in the Gurgaon market for over a decade as a land
aggregator. It has also undertaken real estate development with partners. In the last one year,
the company has launched its own residential and commercial projects in Gurgaon. The
company has a land bank of 600 acres in Delhi-NCR.