Indiabulls arm highest bidder for Voltas land

MUMBAI: Indiabulls Real Estate has emerged as the highest bidder for Voltas's prime 7.2-acre land parcel in Thane, said two persons familiar with the development. The realty developer's bid of Rs 236 crore is the highest amount being paid on per acre basis for a land parcel in Thane. The developer is paying Rs 33 crore per acre under this transaction.

In an earlier deal, Tata Housing Development Company had acquired a 7-acre land parcel in Thane from KEC International for Rs 212 crore or Rs 30 crore an acre.

In a closely contested e-auction on Friday, "The second highest bid for the plot falling under residential zone was placed by another Mumbai-based realty developer at Rs 234 crore", said one of the persons quoted earlier.

Five realty developers, short-listed by Tata Group's air-conditioning arm, Voltas, from a list of 17, had participated in the e-auction of the land parcel conducted by property consultancy CBRE.

The land currently houses Voltas' guest houses, which are adjacent to Vasant Lawns on Pokhran Road No. 2 in Thane.

Indiabulls Real Estate is planning to develop a premium residential project on the plot. According to property consultants, the plot is estimated to have total development potential of over five lakh sq ft, while property rates for an under-construction residential development in the locality are ranging between . 11,200 per sq ft and Rs 12,000 per sq ft.

Indiabulls Real Estate spokesperson declined to comment on the development. The spokesperson for CBRE did not respond to ET's phone calls and text messages. An e-mail query sent to Voltas re mained unanswered till the time of going to press.

In a recent regulatory filing, Indiabulls Real Estate had announced that Century, its wholly owned subsidiary in Jersey, has finalised the issuance of bonds aggregating to $175 million (Rs 1,087 crore). These notes will be listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited.

In June, Indiabulls Real Estate acquired an 87,444-sq ft commercial property, 22 Hanover Square, in a closely contested auction from Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, which is now part of Aberdeen Asset Management, for £155 million, or Rs 1,550 crore.

Earlier this week, Indiabulls Group company Indiabulls Distribution Services, acquired a 2.4-million sq ft commercial complex in Chennai for about Rs 600 crore by buying the entire share capital of the owner, India Land and Properties.
On Friday, shares of Indiabulls Real Estate closed at Rs 79.35 on the BSE, down 0.3% over Thursday's close.