Ascendas acquires Tatas' stake in Bangalore ITPL

Ascendas, provider of commercial office and business space, has bought the entire shareholding of the Tata Group in the International Tech Park, Bangalore (ITPB), the company which controls and operates Information Technology Park Limited (ITPL) located at Whitefield, near Bangalore.

With this acquisition, Ascendas becomes the largest shareholder in ITPB holding 94 per cent and the balance is held by Karnataka government through Karnataka Industries Areas Development Board (KIADB).

Commenting on the deal, Chong Siak Ching, president & CEO of Ascendas said, "The acquisition reflects the importance that Ascendas places on the International Tech Park, Bangalore and the importance of Bangalore as an investment location in India for Ascendas. With this acquisition, the company is establishing a full-fledged office in Bangalore."

According to market sources, ITPB is valued at Rs 1,400 crore and the Ascendas-Tata deal is estimated to be around Rs 500 crore.

The 69-acre ITPB is India's first hi-tech Park of its kind designed to provide a 'work-live-play' environment for IT and technology-related businesses. It fully integrates office, production and retail space. To date, the Park has a total built-up area of close to 2 m sq ft.

ITPB currently has five multi-tenanted buildings that are fully-occupied and the land available for ready expansion. It is the first business space facility in India to house a shopping mall and organise regular fun and fitness events for its occupants.

The mall offers functional banks, ATMs, foreign exchange, courier, lifestyle stores, laundry service, a wide range of food courts, medical clinic and a health club. Truly a 'World in a Park', as the slogan goes, the Park houses over 100 companies employing over 15,000 employees.

Ascendas has been actively involved in ITPL since its inception in 1996 and has been a lead partner in the Singapore consortium that owns 47 per cent of the ITPL. To that 47 per cent has now been added the 47 per cent of the Tatas, with KIADB continuing to hold its 6 per cent stake.

Ascendas (India) Private Limited, established in 2000, develops IT Parks and hi-tech buildings, as well as built-to-suit (BTS) and ready-built facilities (RBF). Its flagship in India is the widely-acclaimed International Tech Park, Bangalore.

This project has been followed by Gurgaon Tech Park in Haryana; Cyber Pearl and Vanenburg IT Park in Hyderabad and the International Tech Park at Chennai, which will be ready in June, 2005.

"Under the strong leadership provided by then-EDB (Economic Development Board of Singapore) chairman Philip Yeo and Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata, the Park was able to get off the ground. We owe much to them for the Park becoming the internationally-reputed icon that it is today," said Chong Siak Ching.

Goh Kok Huat, chief operating officer of Ascendas and concurrently the CEO of Ascendas India, said, "It is business as usual. Ascendas will continue to deliver the same high standards of management that it has been providing consistently since Day One, when the Park welcomed its first group of tenants, many of whom, such as Infineon and Tata Consultancy Services, are still with us today. ITPB will embody the best of our practices in real estate across Asia."

ITPB was mooted in 1992 by the then Prime Ministers of India and Singapore, P V Narasimha Rao and Goh Chok Tong respectively, to replicate Singapore's quality infrastructure in India. Then a consortium of Singapore companies then joined forces with the Tata Group to take on the project.