Embassy proposes to merge 62 mn sq ft into Indiabulls Real Estate

Embassy Group has offered to merge 61.9 million sq ft of its real estate assets into Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd (IBREL) for a proposed, the latter said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

Once the merger goes through, Embassy Group and its chairman Jitu Virwani will take control of the combined entity. Indiabulls Group will finally exit its real estate business and its current promoter Sameer Gehlaut will become a passive shareholder and focus on its financial services business.

“This merger with Indiabulls will strengthen our presence across locations in the country. It will also create a platform for future development in partnership with Institutional investors," said Virwani. The merger of the 11 projects, mostly premium residential and a few office developments, of Bengaluru-based developer Embassy Property Developments Pvt Ltd into IBREL will be subject to a ‘scheme of amalgamation’ and will have to get statutory approvals. Earlier this year, Mumbai-based IBREL approved the merger of certain projects of Embassy Property Developments with itself, to form a new entity. Blackstone Group Lp is a key investor in many of Embassy’s projects and the duo operates the Embassy REIT or real estate investment trust. Blackstone is expected to be a key financial investor in Embassy’s merger with IBREL.

Embassy and the financial investor will receive shares of IBREL, according to the share swap ratio approved by the two companies. In June, IBREL had said that with the lockdown relaxations, efforts are being made by Embassy and IBREL to execute transaction documents on or before 15 July. In June, 2019, IBREL promoters had sold 14% stake through open market transactions to Embassy Group for ₹950 crore.

Source: https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/embassy-proposes-to-merge-62-mn-sq-ft-into-indiabulls-real-estate-11594829736935.html