PE firm exits Sobha project for Rs 98cr
Private equity fund Lapis India Capital Advisors (formerly Sun Apollo) has exited from realty firm Sobha Ltd's housing project in Bengaluru with about two- fold return on investment. The PE firm had invested Rs 50 crore in this project and received Rs 98 crore in four years.
"The realty PE Fund Lapis India Capital Advisors Private Ltd (formerly Sun Apollo) has fully exited its investment in Sobha Palladian project of Sobha Ltd in Bengaluru with approximately 2X return," Sobha said in a statement earlier this week. "It had invested Rs 500 million in a 50:50 partnership with Sobha in its SPV 'Sobha Highrise Ventures Pvt Ltd' and has received back a total of Rs 980 million over a period of 4 years starting 2013 from internal accruals, without impacting Sobha's debt-equity ratio," it added.
This is seen as an excellent investment return in Bengaluru real estate market given the challenging economic environment for the past several years, the company said. "We are probably one of the first companies in Bengaluru real estate market which has been able to give exit to its PE fund partner with handsome returns, given the current slow moving realty sector market," Sobha Vice Chairman & Managing Director J C Sharma said.
Stating that the government has relaxed the FDI norms considerably, he said: "The timely exiting of PE Fund Lapis India from one of our projects in Bangalore with good profit is testimony to the fact that there is great promise in this sector for FDI funds."
Magicbricks Q3 revenue up 43 pc
Realty portal MagicBricks posted 43 per cent rise in revenue at Rs 37 crore in the third quarter of this fiscal earlier this week. Its revenue stood at Rs 96.6 crore in the first nine months of this fiscal, the portal said in a statement. The company said that these figures are online revenues from operations and do not include any group company revenues. "While there has been short-term pressure on the pace of growth post demonetisation, the impact was offset by a series of initiatives across product innovation, traffic growth, channel initiatives and partnership alliances," Magicbricks said in a statement. "The company further plans to grow by launching a series of new business lines around commercial real estate, the rental segment as well as by integrating products such as home loans, movers and packers and assisted selling services on its platform," it added. Based on the third quarter revenue figures, the company claimed that it is now 25-30 per cent bigger than its closest competitor, with a trend of continuous market share gains.
48 pc rise in Mahindra Lifespace Developers Q3 profit
Realty firm Mahindra Lifespace Developers has reported 48 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 35.22 crore for the quarter ended December. Its net profit stood at Rs 23.79 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in a BSE filing. Income from operations rose to Rs 213.08 crore in the third quarter of this fiscal from Rs 193.99 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.
PNB Housing Finance to raise 1,025 cr from bond market
PNB promoted Punjab Housing Finance Ltd plans to raise up to Rs 1,025 crore for business expansion by issuing bonds in a private placement basis. The private placement of secured redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs) for a total amount of Rs 1,025 crore including green shoe option, will open on January 30, the company said in a statement. The issue will close on January 31. The funds raised will be used to spread out branch network in tier II and III cities and grow loan book while maintaining an adequate capital adequacy ratio, the company said. — Agencies
