Brookfield to Own Equinox Office Space from Essar for INR 2450 Cr

Canada-based real estate management company Brookfield Asset Management Inc. has acquired the Equinox Business Park located near Mumbai’s BKC developed by Essar Realty. It has an executive talk and signed a huge deal worth INR 2400 Cr in association with RMZ Corp, a commercial realty firm. In February last year, RMZ Corp has announced that it had signed a contract with Essar Group which owns office space which is spread over 1.25m sq. ft. (40% is occupied) to crack the deal. But the deal failed as parties didn’t agree with the final terms, according to an unknown official.

Corporate chairman Raj Menda from RMZ Corp confirmed deal to be called off with Essar. He added, “We have decided that if there is any investor in that position, Essar will sell it.” Both Essar and Brookfield started talks about the deal and signed an agreement exclusively, according to the first person, and added that the due diligence is about to come underway. A spokesperson from Essar Realty didn’t comment on it anything, though an email was sent regarding confirmation on the development to Brookfield Asset Management,which remained without any response.

Essar has been approaching potential investors and buyers since November for the sale of their commercial complex which has four towers along with other facilities, according to an official who declined to share his name. According to him, Equinox is all set to sell its entire stakes at high valuation and company is expecting to close deal next year. Brookfield has been looking forward to expand its wings aggressively in the nation over the past couple of years, both in commercial and residential real estate segments. The company also signed one of the largest deals in real estate India over the past few years by owning both retail and office assets for up to $1 billion from Hiranandani Developers.

In real estate market of India, Blackstone Group Lp (a private equity company) and GIC Pte. Ltd (a Singapore based sovereign wealth fund giant) are two of the top level foreign investors. In this scenario, Brookfield is emerging at a rapid rate.