Amid allegations made by Hindenburg Research about Blackstone Real Estate Investment Trusts (Reits) benefitting from the employment of Dhaval Buch as Senior Advisor, sources close to the private equity firm said the conclusion is “erroneous”.
Buch, who is the husband of Securities and Exchange Board of India chairperson Madhavi Puri Buch, is employed with Blackstone Private Equity.
He exclusively advises private equity companies across Asia on procurement and supply chain related topics, which is his area of expertise, and is not involved with real estate, Reits, capital markets or interface with any regulator on any topic while at Blackstone.
While the firm did not want to comment on the issue, the sources said in any case, Buch’s appointment in 2019 pre-dates the Sebi chairperson’s appointment and has been in the public domain. So, drawing any co-relation is absurd, the sources said.
The sources also said Blackstone’s first Reit in India — Embassy Reit — was before Madhabi Puri Buch’s appointment at Sebi. A decade ago, Sebi had approved a long-pending proposal to introduce Reits in India, which has created a new investment avenue for institutional investors and wealthy individuals, and eventually ordinary investors.
India today has three listed office Reits —Embassy Reit, Mindspace Business Parks Reit, and Brookfield India Reit — and one listed retail Reit, Nexus Select Trust.