Tata, Actis look to raise $1 billion for commercial properties

United Kingdom-based private equity firm Actis and Tata Realty and Infrastructure (TRIL), a subsidiary of Tata Sons, are looking to raise $1 billion for their commercial properties under their platform.

The duo is doubling the size of the $500-million platform, which it floated in 2015. Tata Realty could contribute equal or more in the second tranche of fundraising, sources said.

The partners are looking to do new projects as well as acquire completed projects in the second round, while in the first round, they focused on completed assets.

The platform is looking to buy land in Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bengaluru, sources said.

The partners are in talks to bring TRIL’S Ramanujan Information Technology Park in Chennai under the investment platform and put in money in the upcoming office projects of Tata Realty, sources said.

They added the partners could do a few ‘forward purchase agreements’, by which they would tie up with a developer which would develop a property and they would buy from it later.

“Actis wants to work with Tata Realty in all its office projects,” a source said.

Sources added the partners were looking to exhaust all money of the first tranche soon. In the first round, they invested in land in Navi Mumbai, Gurugram, and others, and in developing projects in Pune and Bengaluru.

“Tata Realty ’s parent can pump in more money or the company can raise money at competitive rates,” a source said.

Emails sent to TRIL and Actis did not get any response.

The partners would also explore exiting via real estate investment trusts when they build a significant portfolio of commercial properties.

TRIL has a large underconstruction portfolio comprising five commercial real estate projects, one residential real estate project, two road projects, three ropeway projects, and the Pune Metro project.

“The partnership has worked very well for both of them. The timing and opportunity have been very good for investing more in commercial properties,” said Shobhit Agarwal, managing director, Anarock Capital.

Besides Actis, other global investors such as Blackstone, Brookfield, Xander, and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority have bet big on commercial properties in the country owing to their low risk and a fixedincome model.