Bahraini firm acquires stake in Delhi mall project

Dubai: Acacia Real Estate, the real estate investment arm of leading Bahraini private bank TAIB Bank, has acquired a 26 percent stake in a retail development mall in Delhi through a joint venture with Anant Raj Group, a public listed company with a market capitalization of $1.2 billion.

According to an Acacia statement, the deal has been structured in an Islamic finance-compliant manner.

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"We're proud to be able to offer our clients the first Sharia'h-compliant deal in India's growing real estate and retail market," Iqbal Mamdani, Acacia's vice-chairman and executive committee board member, said in the statement.

"This deal provides investors with an attractive return and upside potential in one of the fastest growing emerging markets," he said.

The project is expected to generate a return on equity for investors of 83 percent over a three-and-a-half-year holding period.

TAIB Bank has been appointed as the exclusive placement agent for the project.

According to the statement, the $220 million retail mall development will consist of 600,000 square feet of retail space upon completion.

The mall will be managed by Sandalwood, a joint venture company of Jones Lang LaSalle and Colonial First State Property Management, a leading Australian retail management firm.

The joint venture partners are currently in advanced discussions with the potential anchor tenant of the mall.

This is the second real estate deal for Acacia in India.

In March this year, it had acquired a 49 percent stake in Logix Technopark, an information technology park at Noida near Delhi.

"I'm also very pleased that our second real estate deal in India is with a highly reputed partner who has an excellent track record," Mamdani said.

Incorporated in 2006, Acacia aims to provide a diverse range of conventional and Islamic finance-compliant investments focused on income generating properties and select development projects.
Source: IANS