Nexus Select Trust, the retail-focussed real estate investment trust sponsored by global private equity giant Blackstone, has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire three malls from Larsen & Toubro in Hyderabad for $300-350 million, sources said.
Strategic location
Branded ‘Hyderabad Next Galleria Malls’, they are located near metro stations and have been developed by L&T as part of the effort to transform the shopping and entertainment ecosystem in the city.
There are four L&T malls along the metro line with a total leasable area of 1.2 million square feet. Nexus has signed a deal for three of the malls with a total area of 1 msf and with a leased occupancy of 84 per cent. The three malls that are likely part of the deal are e-Galleria, located next to Hitec City metro station with an area of 2 lakh square feet; Next Galleria Mall near Punjagutta metro station (5 lakh square feet) and Premia next to the Irrum Manzil station.
Neither Nexus Select Trust nor L&T responded to requests for comment on the deal.
The acquisition of these malls will take Nexus Select Trust’s retail portfolio to around 11 msf. It has only signed a non-binding term sheet and the final transaction will depend on the pricing and valuation.
All the malls have a good tenant base with Reliance Trends as an anchor tenant and PVR-INOX, the multiplex operator tenant.
This is not the first deal that Blackstone has done with L&T. In 2017, it acquired Seawoods Mall in Navi Mumbai from the engineering and construction major for over ₹1,300 crore. At around 1 msf, it is one of the largest retail properties in the REIT’s portfolio after Nexus Elante in Chandigarh.
The gross asset value of Nexus Select’s retail portfolio was ₹21,924 core at the end of September 2023 with an occupancy of 97 per cent. Its portfolio also has three office assets and two hotels.
