BLACKSTONE SET TO ACQUIRE Rs. 12.7K Cr.OF PRESTIGE ASSETS

US private equity giant blackstone group is set to acquire property developer prestige group's rental income as sets for more than $1.7b (Rs12745crore) in the largest real estate portfolio buyout in india,said three persons with direct knowledge of the matter.

If deal goes through ,prestige will use the money to pay of it's debts and deploy the rest as equity capital for growth the said. The deal includes ready,income-making and under construction properties in key areas of south-india including bengaluru,chennai and mysore.

It will be blackstone's single largest realty investment in the country and will eclipse $1billion raised through listing of india's two real estate investment trusts(REITs)-Embassy and Mindspace Business Perks.

Sheets have been signed and deal is set to be concluded next week said one of the person.

Blackstone will be acquiring 100% control around 20 million square feet of commercial space, including 16 million sq ft of ready and completely leased assets.

The deal will include developer's 9 operational malls and combined assets, after adding Blackstone's retail entity Nexus Malls, will double the private equity firm's retail portfolio size.