At a time when the country’s real estate builders are reeling from a severe cash crunch, MetroCorp, a Bangalore-based realtor, is close to raising $300 million (about Rs 1,400 crore) from leading global financial institutions, including Prudential Corporation Asia and Warburg Pincus.
MetroCorp, a three-year-old real estate developer, has three projects under execution, and has lined up a bouquet of 21 projects across India, ranging from residential and commercial to integrated townships to special economic zones.
Deepak Krishnappa, chairman & CEO, refused to confirm the move but said they are in discussions with various private equity funds for development of plots. MetroCorp is understood to have tied up with land owners for developing close to 6,000 acres across the country.
MetroCorp’s fund-raising plans come nearly a year after the Century Group, another Bangalore-based land bank and real estate developer, mopped up $300 million from leading fund houses Goldman Sachs and Fortress.
Sources said Century has plans to raise another $200 million (over Rs 920 crore) to develop a 12-acre plot near the Bangalore International Airport. Industry analysts indicate that such big ticket real estate private equity deals are getting far and few in the Bangalore-real estate market, which was until recently much sought after by private equity investors.
“There is sense among PEs that they have over-exposed themselves to the Bangalore market and there might be significant drop in the number of PE deals,” an analyst said.
