Embassy REIT raises Rs 750 crore via non-convertible debentures

Embassy Office Parks REIT on Tuesday said it has raised Rs 750 crore by issuing debentures on private placement basis and will use the funds for completing ongoing commercial projects and recent acquisition.

Embassy REIT is the country's first listed REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) and the largest in Asia by area. It got listed in April last year after raising Rs 4,750 crore through public issue.

In a filing to BSE, Embassy REIT said it has "successfully priced and allotted by way of a private placement, Rs 7.5 billionor Rs 750 crore of rupee-denominated, listed, rated, secured, redeemable, transferable non-convertible debentures (NCDs) at 6.70 per cent quarterly coupon".

The NCDs will be listed on the Wholesale Debt Market of BSE.

Following our successful Rs 7.5 billion fundraise in September 2020, we are pleased to announce another competitively priced debt raise by Embassy REIT," Michael Holland, CEO of Embassy REIT, said.

This successful placement once again demonstrates the strength of balance sheet and the underlying appeal of its business supported by the strong covenants of a largely multinational occupier base, he said.

Embassy REIT will use the funds to drive growth through on-campus development projects and recently announced accretive acquisition of Embassy Manyata and Embassy TechZone property maintenance.

On August 14, the Board of Embassy Office Parks Management Services, Manager to the Embassy REIT, approved the issue of NCDs in one or more tranches.

Embassy REIT, sponsored by realty firm Embassy Group and global investment firm Blackstone, owns and operates 33.3 million square feet portfolio of seven infrastructure-like office parks and four city-centre office buildings in India's best performing office markets of Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, and the National Capital Region (NCR).

Embassy REIT's portfolio comprises 26.2 million sq ft of completed operating area, and has an occupancy of 92.2 per cent as of June 30.