ICICI Prudential AMC plans $400 million platform for realty investment
ICICI Prudential AMC will use the real estate investment platform to invest equity and debt instruments in residential projects
Mumbai: ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co. (AMC) Ltd, the asset management joint venture of ICICI Bank Ltd and UK’s Prudential Plc., is looking to set up a real estate investment platform with a corpus of almost $400 million, said two people aware of the development.
The AMC already has significant assets under management (AUM) in the mutual fund segment. It also caters to portfolio management services for investors spread across the country, along with advisory mandates for clients across international markets in asset classes such as debt, equity and real estate.
“ICICI Prudential AMC is setting up a real estate platform in partnership with overseas real estate-focused asset management companies. They are in talks with at least a couple of overseas asset managers and the talks are expected to be concluded soon," said one of the two people cited above requesting anonymity, as the talks are private.
The platform will see the AMC and its foreign partners invest close to $400 million.
According to the second person cited above, the platform will invest equity and debt instruments in residential projects. He too requested anonymity.
A spokesperson for ICICI Prudential AMC declined to comment on the development.
This will be the largest real estate fund raised by ICICI Prudential AMC till date, which currently manages more than Rs3,700 crore in its real estate business.
According to the asset manager’s website, it has so far made over 55 real estate investments, of which it has sold around 20, returning more than Rs3,000 crore to investors.
On the residential side, the AMC has raised five funds with a collective corpus of Rs3,160 crore, since starting its first fund in 2007, while on the commercial real estate side it has raised just one fund so far.
The real estate sector has seen several large platform deals being struck in the recent past.
Earlier this year in April, Canadian pension fund Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) said that it will invest as much as $250 million in a strategic investment platform, Island Star Mall Developers Pvt. Ltd, a unit of Phoenix Mills, to develop, own and operate retail-led mixed-use developments across India.
The funds will be used for acquiring and developing both greenfield assets on newly purchased land banks, as well as existing operating retail assets. Phoenix Mills will manage all development and operational assets in Island Mall.
Last year, Dutch pension fund APG Asset Management NV and Virtuous Retail (VR), the retail development arm of investment firm Xander Group Inc., formed a joint venture to invest in retail real estate, Mint reported.
The venture acquired a portfolio of three shopping mall assets from a Xander-sponsored fund for about Rs2,000 crore. APG and Xander have committed an additional $150 million as equity capital that will be used to expand the portfolio through new acquisitions and greenfield developments.
Also in 2016, Australian asset manager Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) tied up with realty firm Tata Housing Development Co. Ltd to jointly invest around Rs2,000 crore to develop high-end residential projects, Mint reported.
Also, Macquarie and Tata Housing have entered into a 70:30 partnership, with MIRA committing Rs1,400 crore and Tata Housing committing the remaining Rs600 crore.
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