A day after announcing plans to increase its investment in India to $100 billion, global private equity giant Blackstone has announced that it will acquire 40% stake in Pune-based Kolte Patil Developers (KDPL).
Through its subsidiary BREP Asia III Holding Company, Blackstone will acquire a 14.3% stake (12.6 million shares) in KDPL at Rs 329 per share, amounting to Rs 417 crore via a preferential issue. It will also acquire another 25.7% from the promoters group for Rs 750 crore, according to an exchange filing, taking the total transaction cost to Rs 1,167 crore.
The acquistion will be at a discount from Thursday’s closing price of KDPL shares at Rs 347.15 on the BSE.
The acquisition will trigger an open offer to acquire an additional 26% stake in the company, including which Blackstone’s total investment will be approximately Rs 1,800 crore for a majority stake in KDPL.
Following the announcement, KDPL’s stock rose 2.53% on Thursday, before closing at Rs 347.15. Blackstone’s investment in India has been in the commercial real estate segment so far.
After the preferential allotment and share acquisition from existing shareholders, Blackstone will become a joint promoter of KDPL alongside the existing promoters, the Kolte and Patil family members. Currently, the promoter group holds 69.45% of KDPL, while institutions own 9.01% and other investors 21.54%.
Founded in 2007, KDPL has developed and delivered a total of 28 million square feet to date, with an additional 32.38 million square feet under various stages of execution and approval.
The company has set a new business development guidance of Rs 8,000 crore for FY25.
KDPL focuses on mid-segment and premium residences in Pune, Mumbai and Bangalore, with approximately 70% of its business coming from projects located in Pune and the remaining 30% in Mumbai and Bangalore.
For the first nine months of FY25, KDPL reported sales of Rs 2,161 crore, with collections increasing 17% year-on-year to Rs 1,729 crore. The company’s total revenues during the period came in at Rs 998.7 crore, with a net profit of Rs 41.3 crore and a profit margin 4.1%.
The Life Republic township in Pune is KDPL’s flagship project, spanning 1.5 million square feet of sales volume, while their premium residences are marketed under 24K. The latest average selling price for KDPL stands at Rs 8,394 per sq ft. The company is also involved in 14 redevelopment projects in Mumbai, of which two have been completed, five are ongoing, and seven are in the pipeline.
According to Motilal Oswal Research, after a stagnant pre-sales performance over the last eight quarters, KDPL is projected to return to a growth trajectory in H2FY25, thanks to project launches and a strong pipeline. With a forthcoming project pipeline valued at Rs 2,500 crore, healthy growth is likely. The report anticipates an 18% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in pre-sales from FY24 to FY27.
The group has maintained the FY25 estimated pre-sales figure at Rs 3,500 crore but were awaiting further clarity on business development progress. Some approval delays were expected that could cause some targeted launches to spill over into FY26, which resulted in a reduction of their target price from Rs 620 to Rs 525, according to the brokerage.