Global investors are vying to acquire one of the oldest technology-office zones in Bengaluru. As per multiple reports, Marquee global investors GIC of Singapore, Temasek-owned Mapletree and Blackstone Group among others, are in the race to acquire IBC Knowledge Park for over Rs 2,300 crore.
India Builders Corp (IBC), a legacy office space developer in South India, is set to sell 2.2-million-sqft office asset, ET reported. The office space has some leading IT giants like Accenture, IBM, Byju’s and Swiggy as its tenants.
IBC Knowledge Park is located on 13 acres near Dairy Circle. The property benefits from its distinguished location as it offers good connectivity via road and railway while remaining conveniently close to hotels and markets.
The park reportedly has a net operating income of Rs 170 crore from the fully leased 1.7-million-sq ft, while another 0.5-million-sq ft development potential is offered as part of the deal. International consultants JLL is running the sale process in this case.
While GIC is likely to partner with K Raheja Corp for the deal, Blackstone may look at acquiring the asset along with Embassy Group. Other than GIC, Mapletree and Blackstone Group, Xander Group and Singapore’s Ascendas are the other investors evaluating the bid, that is expected by mid-September.
Set up in 2004, the office park was initially a joint venture between IBC and Century Group. After a prolonged shareholder dispute, IBC reportedly bought Century’s stake in Knowledge Park some two years ago. The park is expected to report around 13-14-million-sqft leading activity this year.
Noteworthy here is that the overall India office leasing activity is likely to cross 40 million sqft, closing the gap with China’s 50 million sqft, very soon. India’s technology capital Bengaluru is the largest grade-A office market in the terms of annual absorption.