New Delhi, June 9 -- Birla Estates Pvt Ltd, the real estate subsidiary of the Aditya Birla Group, has secured a $50-million (about Rs 420-crore) investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank, for the development of two residential projects, the company said Monday.
With this investment, IFC has acquired a 44% stake in each of the two projects-Birla Punya in Pune and Birla Kalwa in Thane-through separate special purpose vehicles (SPVs).
"Housing is a powerful driver of jobs, resilience, economic growth-and a key priority for IFC. Our partnership with Birla Estates will bridge the gap in India's housing sector by expanding availability of and access to sustainable, high-quality housing for the country's growing population, with a focus on first-time homeowners," said Imad N Fakhoury, regional director for South Asia, IFC.
This is not IFC's first investment in an Aditya Birla Group company. In January this year, IFC subscribed to non-convertible debentures worth Rs 830 crore ($96 million) issued by Aditya Birla Housing Finance Ltd, aimed at providing home loans to low- and middle-income groups, with a particular focus on promoting homeownership among women.
IFC has been quite active in India's residential real estate sector. In 2023, it partnered with south India-focused developer Sunteck Realty to launch an affordable housing platform, investing Rs 750 crore in the joint venture.
Meanwhile, Birla Estates began operations in 2016, having been carved out of Century Textiles to focus on Mumbai's commercial real estate market. While Century continues to operate its pulp and paper business, Birla Estates has expanded its portfolio to include both residential and commercial developments across key markets, including the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, and Pune. Its commercial real estate assets include Grade-A buildings with 600,000 square feet of leasable area. It also has a residential development potential of about 20 million square feet, primarily targeting premium and upper mid-income housing segments.
In a recent earnings call, the company's management said that Aditya Birla Real Estate is planning to enter the Mumbai redevelopment market, which is attracting interest from many developers. Other players tapping into this segment include multi-asset manager Alpha Alternatives, in partnership with Peninsula Land and Delta Corp.
Meanwhile, the Aditya Birla Group is also expected to sell its pulp and paper business to ITC Ltd in July-September.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.