Blackstone Offloads Over 31 Crore Units in Nexus Select Trust for INR 4,355 Crore

Global investment firm Blackstone sold 31.55 crore units in its REIT firm Nexus Select Trust for approximately Rs 4,354.90 crore through a block deal on stock exchanges. This move is part of Blackstone's strategy to monetise its real estate portfolio. Currently, Blackstone holds around 43 per cent stake in Nexus Select Trust, India's first REIT backed by retail properties.

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Stake Reduction and Transaction Details

According to exchange data, Blackstone sold the units at Rs 138 each, bringing the total transaction value to Rs 4,354.90 crore. Following this divestment, Blackstone's stake in Nexus Select Trust will reduce to 21 per cent. The units were disposed of at an average price of Rs 138 per unit.

Domestic mutual funds such as ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund and HDFC Mutual Fund acquired units of Nexus Select Trust. Among foreign companies, US-based financial services firms Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley, along with French asset management firm Carmignac, purchased stakes in the company. These entities acquired a total of 11.75 crore units or 7.76 per cent stake in Nexus Select Trust.

Portfolio and Market Impact

Nexus Select Trust's portfolio includes 17 shopping malls with a gross leasable area of 9.9 million square feet across 14 cities, two complementary hotel assets with 354 keys, and three office assets with a gross leasable area of 1.3 million square feet. Many existing investors also increased their unit holdings in Nexus Select Trust.

Blackstone has sponsored three REITs in India: Embassy Office Parks REIT, Mindspace REIT, and Nexus Select Trust, which got listed last year after raising over Rs 3,000 crore through public issues. The units were sold by Blackstone through its affiliates BREP Asia II Indian Holding Co IX NQ and BREP Asia SG Red Fort Holding NQ via separate bulk deals.

Market Performance

On the NSE, BREP Asia II Indian Holding Co IX NQ sold 18.89 crore units while BREP Asia SG Red Fort Holding NQ disposed of 11.82 crore units of REIT on the bourse. Additionally, BREP Asia II Indian Holding Co IX NQ offloaded 83.97 lakh units on the BSE. The combined transaction value exceeded Rs 4,354 crore.

Nexus Select Trust's units fell by 4.93 per cent to close at Rs 137.05 apiece on the NSE and ended at Rs 137.88 per piece on the BSE, down by 4.51 per cent.

Blackstone has monetised its investment in Nexus Select Trust through this block deal.