Blackstone sells over 31 crore units in Nexus Select Trust for Rs 4,355 cr

New Delhi: Today, Blackstone, a global investment company, sold 31.55 crore units in its REIT firm 'Nexus Select Trust' for approximately Rs 4,354.90 crore in a block deal on stock exchanges to profit from its real estate assets. Blackstone owns approximately 43 percent of Nexus Select Trust, India's inaugural real estate investment trust (REIT) supported by retail properties. As per trading information, Blackstone disposed of 31.55 crore shares in Nexus Select Trust at Rs 138 each, resulting in a total transaction amount of Rs 4,354.90 crore

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund and HDFC Mutual Fund, among other domestic mutual funds, acquired units of Nexus Select Trust. According to information on the NSE, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley, both US-based financial services companies, purchased shares in the company, while French asset management company Carmignac bought shares in the REIT firm. These organizations obtained a combined total of 11.75 crore units, equivalent to a 7.76 percent ownership in Nexus Select Trust.

As per the information available, they bought these units for Rs 138 each on average, resulting in a total transaction value of Rs 1,622.49 crore. Several current investors also raised their stake in Nexus Select Trust. Blackstone has converted its investment in Nexus Select Trust into cash through this block deal. After selling off some of their shares, Blackstone's ownership in Nexus Select Trust will decrease to 21 percent.                                                                           

Nexus Select Trust's collection includes 17 shopping centers covering 9.9 million square feet in 14 cities, two hotels (354 rooms), and three office buildings totaling 1.3 million square feet.

Blackstone has backed three REITs in India -- Embassy Office Parks REIT, MindspaceREIT and Nexus Select Trust, which went public last year and raised over Rs 3,000 crore.

According to trading information from the NSE and BSE, Blackstone, through its related companies BREP Asia II Indian Holding Co IX (NQ) and BREP Asia SG Red Fort Holding NQ, sold shares of Nexus Select Trust, a real estate investment trust (REIT), in individual large transactions.

Blackstone sold 31.55 crore units or a 20.82 per cent stake in Nexus Select Trust through its subsidiaries. BREP Asia II Indian Holding Co IX (NQ) unloaded 18.89 crore units of Nexus Select Trust on the NSE as BREP Asia SG Red Fort Holding NQ sold 11.82 crore units of REIT on the stock exchange. Furthermore, BREP Asia II Indian Holding Co IX (NQ) sold 83.97 lakh units of Nexus Select Trust on the BSE.

The units were sold for an average of Rs 138 each, resulting in a total transaction value exceeding Rs 4,354 crore.The BSE could not determine the identities of the purchasers of Nexus Select Trust units. The units of Nexus Select Trust experienced a sharp decline of 4.93 per cent, finishing atY Rs 137.05 each on the NSE and Rs 137.88 on the BSE, down by 4.51 per cent.