The company is also in talks to buy South City Mall Kolkata and L& T Metro Malls Hyderabad.
New Delhi: Nexus Select Trust, India’s first publicly listed retail real estate investment trust (REIT), is set to acquire Vega City Mall in Bengaluru, the company said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.
On Thursday, the Blackstone-backed Nexus Select informed in a regulatory filing that it has agreed to acquire the Bengaluru-based mall, spread across 0.45 million sq. ft. from Blue Horizon Hotels Private Limited and land on which the Mall is constructed (“Mall Land”) which is presently owned by A.S. Muniswamy Raju H.U.F.
The Board of Directors of Nexus Select Mall Management Private Limited
(previously known as Nexus India Retail Management Services Private Limited), Manager to Nexus Select Trust (“Trust”), approved the acquisition of Vega City Mall situated in Bengaluru, at its Meeting held on 16 October 202 for Rs 877 crore.
The above acquisition by Nexus Select Trust, shall be executed through its Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), i.e. Vijaya Productions Private Limited subject to execution of the transaction documents and fulfilment of customary and commercially agreed closing conditions.
The Blackstone-baked REIT is also in talks to acquire two more assets including South City Mall in Kolkata and L&T Metro Malls, in Hyderabad, from developers like the Kolkata-based South City Projects and multinational conglomerate L&T India respectively, according to two sources familiar with development. If the talks fructify to acquire those two additional malls, Nexus will take the total number of shopping centres under its portfolio to 20. Nexus Select Trust declined to comment on the proposed acquisitions of the three malls.
IR also reached out to all three malls seeking responses, and it shall be soon updated once there is a response.
In August this year, Nexus’s executive director and chief executive officer Dalip Sehgal said in a statement announcing its quarterly results that the company is in discussion to acquire five assets and aims to double its net operating income from its retail portfolio in the next five years.
Different media reports in the past have revealed that the company was in talks to acquire malls from developers like L&T, Axis Mall in Kolkata and others.
Comprising 17 Grade A urban consumption centres or malls. Nexus’s portfolio boasts a gross leasable area of about 10 million sq. ft., spread across 14 cities. Complementing these retail spaces are two hotel assets with 354 keys and three office assets with a gross leasable area of 1.3 million square feet. Collectively, Nexus Select Trust centres are home to over 1,000 domestic and international brands, offering customers a curated experience through 3,000 stores.
Nexus Select Trust also works towards sustainability with over 43 MW of solar and hybrid power plant capacity and has reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by over 12,500 tons per year. Additionally, 26% of Nexus Select’s workforce comprises women, reflecting its commitment to diversity and inclusion. The company’s tenant sales in financial year (FY) 24 was Rs 120 billion.
