Adanis exit realty, to put Mumbai sites on the block

AHMEDABAD: After making a grand foray into real estate and taking up several township projects, industrialist Gautam Adani’s flagship company Adani Enterprises (AEL) has decided to exit the real estate sector and focus on its core infrastructure business – mainly ports and power.

The announcement surprised market watchers in Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Gurgaon, where the group has large land-holdings and ongoing projects, which are being executed by subsidiary Adani Infrastructure and Developers (AIDL) .

“The board of directors has approved the proposal. The move will infuse additional liquidity in the company. We would be able to focus on our core businesses,” Devang Desai, executive director, AEL, said on Thursday. The AEL stock closed over 4% down at Rs 393 on the BSE on Thursday on the back of disappointing quarterly results.

The group’s real estate interests first became evident in 2006, when it acquired development rights for 21 lakh sq feet from Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL) at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai in an Rs 2,000-crore deals, the biggest in the country then. Later, Adanis also acquired the Khatau Mills land in Mumbai.

“We may consider a total exit from the whole portfolio of our real estate projects, including Mumbai. It has a negligible share in our total revenues,” said Desai. The company has nearly 40 million sq ft under various stages of development at different locations. “We are working out divestment model, either through complete change of guard or a mix of ownership,” Desai added.
The company had also announced plans of an integrated township at Mundra in Kutch. The group had also made a foray into the Delhi-NCR region.


Via - (www.indianrealitynews.com)