Brookfield Asset Management and Blackstone Group, two of the largest global investors, have emerged as the front runners to buy the 10-million-square-foot warehousing portfolio of ESR-Allianz, sources in the know said. The deal value is expected to be around Rs 4,000 crore.
ESR-Allianz will decide on the ultimate winner soon, one of the sources said. ESR-Allianz is an equal joint venture between Asia-Pacific-focused logistics developer & investor ESR and Allianz Real Estate, part of German group Allianz.
A deal to sell the ESR-Allianz assets was called off two years ago due to valuation mismatch. In the recent bidding, Brookfield and Blackstone have emerged as the final bidders, sources said.
If Brookfield becomes the winner, it will be a new business foray for the asset manager as it does not operate in warehousing, sources said. Blackstone already owns warehousing ventures in the country. A Brookfield spokesperson declined to comment on the matter, while an email sent to Blackstone did not elicit any response.
An Allianz Real Estate spokesperson declined to comment, terming these market rumours, while an email sent to ESR did not elicit any response. The warehousing platform has eight assets in the country occupying 396 acres with a gross floor area of 10 million square feet, of which 7.5 million sq ft is operational. ESR and Allianz had set up the joint venture in 2018 with a commitment to invest about $1 billion to set up industrial parks and warehouses in the country.
The venture has four assets in Pune (two each in Chakan and Ranjangaon), and one each in Gurugram (Sohna), Mumbai (Bhiwandi), Chennai (Oragadam), and Kolkata (Uluberia). Blackstone is the largest investor in real estate with a portfolio estimated at $25 billion across office, retail, logistics, hospitality, residential, and data centres.
The firm owns about 170 million sq ft of office space across seven major cities, with an additional 15 million sq ft under construction and 15 million sq ft in the pipeline. It has a logistics company, Horizon Industrial Parks, and has logistics JV with the Hiranandani Group. It has also sponsored REITs, including Knowledge Realty Trust (India’s largest and latest REIT), Nexus Select Trust, Embassy Office Parks, and Mindspace Business Parks.
Beyond real estate, it is expanding into data centres under Lumina CloudInfra and residential partnerships such as its recent stake in Kolte-Patil Developers. Committing about $2 billion annually, Blackstone earlier said it viewed India as a long-term growth market within its global portfolio.
Brookfield is one of the largest foreign investors in India’s real estate with $12 billion assets under management. It’s portfolio includes office, retail and hospitality assets. It is one of the largest office owners in the country with over 55 million square feet, including Cowrks, a flexible workspace operator. It sponsored and manages Brookfield India Real Estate Trust.
The REIT owns 10 premium assets in Delhi, Mumbai, Gurugram, Noida, and Kolkata. Its REIT portfolio consists of 29 million sq ft of leasable area. Brookfield also listed its hotel company, The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts, which has over 3,500 keys across 13 operational hotels. The Leela was listed in 2025.