DLF to exit Kolkata with sale of IT SEZ, land parcel for ₹693 crore

Bengaluru: DLF Ltd on Wednesday said it has entered an agreement to sell its Kolkata IT/ITeS (information technology and information technology-enabled services) special economic zone (SEZ), including a land parcel, spread across 25.9 acres to local developer Srijan Realty Pvt. Ltd and its subsidiaries for ₹693 crore. 

The commercial office SEZ—Kolkata Tech Park 2—is located in suburban Kolkata’s Rajarhat area and has gross leasable area of 1.1 million sq. ft.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.

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“The proposed transaction is to be undertaken by way of a slump sale,” DLF said in a regulatory filing.

A slump sale involves a lump sum amount for selling an entire business.

Stock of the country’s largest real estate firm ended about 1% lower at ₹656.60 on the BSE on Wednesday.

In November, a DLF group subsidiary had agreed to sell its 1.4 million sq. ft office property—Kolkata Tech Park 1—in Rajarhat to RDB Primarc Techno Park LLP, an affiliate of Primarc and RDB Group.

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Eastern market exit

With the sale of these two properties, DLF will exit the eastern realty market, which it had entered nearly two decades ago, when India was witnessing a real estate boom.

Sriram Khattar, vice-chairman and managing director, DLF rental business, told Mint in November, after the sale of Kolkata Tech Park 1, that the company would utilize this capital to invest in high-growth markets that will generate superior returns for its shareholders.

Gurugram-based DLF has also developed a large residential project, DLF New Town Heights, in Kolkata.

DLF is one of the largest commercial office developers in the country.

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The DLF group has an over 42 million sq ft operational commercial office portfolio. Another 14 million sq ft is under construction. The projects are largely concentrated in Gurugram, Chennai and Noida. The developer has big plans to scale up its rental income. 

Gross leasing of commercial office space in India touched a historic high of 79 million sq ft last year, as per property advisory CBRE India, after the initial years of pandemic-led uncertainties.