DLF may sell 2 Noida plots to Bharti Realty for Rs 250 crore

NEW DELHI: India's biggest real estate firm DLF is close to selling two 25-acre plots of land in Noida to Bharti Realty, the realty arm of Bharti Enterprises, for 250 crore. The two plots of land in sector-144 of Noida have permissions to build IT parks under the IT park scheme of Noida and the buyer can build close to 2.5-3 million sq ft of office space on each of the two plots, said two persons close to the development, who did not wish to be named. Both DLF and Bharti Realty spokespersons said they do not comment on market speculation.

Bharti Realty, who has been keen on expanding its footprint in Noida, has been in talks with a number of other landowners in sector 144 and 145 of Noida for potential buys and joint development agreements. These deals, however, have fell through over the last few quarters.

The company had earlier bought a commercial plot of land from DLF in 2010-11 in Gurgaon's sector 65 on which it has just started developing an office building. According to one of the persons, Bharti Realty is currently negotiating with Bharti-Walmart to bring them in as an anchor tenant. This is expected to be Bharti-Walmart's headquarters in the future. "They are looking at expanding their real estate business as the group's in-house requirements for space are growing," he said.

For DLF, this sale is part of their on-going divestment of non-core assets.

To reduce mounting debt, DLF has decided to sell its non-core assets, which include both land, SEZs and some office buildings. The company's net debt stands at 22,758 crore at the end of December 31, 2011, down marginally by 169 crore in the October-December quarter.