Blackstone's Knowledge Realty Trust Offer For Sale Subscribed 2.5 Times

The Rs 12,000-crore offer for sale (OFS) of US-based fund house Blackstone in Knowledge Realty Trust (KRT) was subscribed 2.5 times, underscoring strong investor appetite. The deal comprised a base offer of about 740 million units (Rs 8,000 crore) and an oversubscription option of about 370 million units (Rs 4,000 crore), or a combined 25% stake. The sale opened on Monday for non-retail investors. Retail investors participated on Tuesday. The issue had a floor price of Rs 108. This is the largest transaction in Indian REITs space, and the second-largest OFS in the country after the LIC stake sale. KRT unit price on Tuesday fell 0.60% to close at Rs 109.64 on the BSE. The deal will reduce Blackstone’s stake in KRT to about 21.5% from 46.5%, making joint venture partner Sattva Group the REIT’s largest holder with a stake of about 32%. Knowledge Realty Trust made its stock-market debut in August last year after raising Rs 4,800 crore in an initial public offering that was subscribed about 13 times. The strong performance of listed REITs is helping deepen the country’s relatively-young market for real estate trusts, giving property owners an avenue to monetise assets while offering investors access to institutional-grade commercial real estate. All five listed REITs have outperformed the Nifty 50 over the past year, delivering total returns of about 8% to 22%, compared with a 1% decline in the index, according to Bloomberg. Embassy Office Parks, Mindspace Business Parks and Nexus Select Trust have each returned more than 20% during the period.