Ascendas Property Fund Trustee Pte. Ltd., the Trustee-Manager of Ascendas India Trust (“a-iTrust”), has entered into a forward purchase agreement with Casa Grande Group to acquire its first industrial facility at Mahindra World City, Chennai.
The a-iTrust will also provide funding for the development of the Project as part of the forward purchase arrangement. Upon completion of the Project and fulfilment of other vital conditions, a-iTrust shall purchase 100% of the shares of the entity developing the Project.
Sanjeev Dasgupta, Chief Executive Officer of the Trustee-Manager said, “The proposed acquisition will add exposure to the industrial asset class and diversify our portfolio. The industrial segment has been resilient through the pandemic. The Project also offers an opportunity to have a leading manufacturer like Pegatron within our tenant portfolio and support their expansion in India.”
AgenciesET was the first to report the proposed deal between real estate firm Casagrand Builder and Ascendas-Firstspace valued about Rs 400 crore in November 2020.
The a-iTrust has the option to provide additional funding to develop industrial facilities of approximately 0.37 million square feet, subject to leasing milestones and other conditions being met.
The Transaction offers a diversification opportunity for a-iTrust into the industrial asset class and fits the Trustee-Manager’s investment strategy to invest in quality logistics and industrial assets.
The Project is an industrial facility with a net leasable area of approximately 0.42 million square feet.
The Project is fully pre-leased to Pegatron Technology India Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pegatron Corporation, a listed Taiwanese contract electronics manufacture, with a 7 year lock in period. Construction of the project is ongoing and is expected to completed by mid-2021.
Mahindra World City is an established industrial micro-market occupied by leading blue-chip companies including BMW, BASF, Fujitec, NCR Corporation and B. Braun.
As of 31 December 2020, a-iTrust’s asset under management stands at S$2.1 billion. The a-iTrust’s portfolio comprises seven IT business parks and one logistics park in India, namely the International Tech Park Bangalore, International Tech Park Chennai and CyberVale in Chennai, International Tech Park Hyderabad, CyberPearl, and aVance in Hyderabad, aVance in Pune and Arshiya warehouses near Mumbai.
