As per a report in a financial daily, global private equity giant Blackstone Group has bought a majority stake in a retail project of real estate developer Forum Group.
The Business Standard reports that the PE firm has invested about Rs 250 crore for a 75 per cent stake in retail space Esplanade Mall in Bhubaneswar.
Forum is investing Rs 1,400 crore to develop about three million square feet of retail space in the eastern part of India. The group is talking with Blackstone for investments in other retail projects, the report added.
According to the news report, Forum Group is also in talks with Blackstone to sell stake in more of its retail projects.
“We will be delivering roughly one million square feet of retail infrastructure development every year for the next three years. We expect the joint platform with Blackstone will acquire more such properties in the future,” Vidyut Saraf, deputy managing director, Forum Group told the news paper.
Forum is investing Rs 1,400 crore to develop about three million square feet of retail space in the eastern part of India. The group is talking with Blackstone for investments in other retail projects, the report added.
Kolkata-based Forum Group had said last year that the Esplanade Mall would be spread over 0.9 million sq ft and would have a built-up space of 450,000 sq ft at an investment of Rs 500 crore.
Forum Esplanade is coming up at Rasulgarh, a strategically located areas in the city and is being built by Leighton, a major construction and contracting company based out of Australia. It would house around 150 operators in sectors like retail, food and entertainment.
Further, the mall would count Mexican multiplex chain Cinepolis as one of its key anchor tenants.
