Embassy-Blackstone JV buys majority stake in biz park

Embassy Office Parks and private equity firm Blackstone said on Friday that they have completed the acquisition of Vrindavan Tech Village (VTV), a 106-acre business park for almost Rs 1,200 crore. The park has been renamed as Embassy TechVillage, according to a Embassy Office Parks statement.

Embassy Office Parks is an equally-owned joint venture between Bangalore-based commercial property developer Embassy Group, and funds managed by The Blackstone Group LP.

Embassy Office Parks has acquired a majority controlling stake of 60 per cent in Embassy Tech Village with a valuation of Rs 1,951 crore, the company said.

Embassy TechVillage is planned as an integrated project with commercial components as well as retail and residential spaces. It has a potential built-up-office area in excess of 15 million sq ft, with 1.9 million sq ft already completed.

Embassy Group Chairman and Managing Director Jitu Virwani said that the deal creates the tone to creating Embassy Office Parks which, post the Embassy TechVillage acquisition, will boast of over 20 million sq ft of commercial real estate space. “We now have over 150,000 park users across four business parks and have over 100 blue chip, MNC and Indian companies in our portfolio,” Virwani said.

Embassy Group also operates two other business parks in Bangalore — Embassy Golf Links and Embassy Manyata Business Park.