Investors bought the whole upsized package. Blackstone put up to 1.11 billion units on the block, with an indicated price tag of 109.17 rupees a unit. The structure featured a base size near 740 million units plus an additional pool of about 370 million units through an oversubscription option, taking the total on offer to 25% of Knowledge Realty Trust. This marked the biggest transaction in India by a private shareholder conducted via the offer-for-sale mechanism.
Non-retail investors got access on Aug. 31, with the retail tranche starting Sept. 1. Strong take-up reinforces the momentum behind India's REIT market, where better performance has been pulling in fresh buyers and giving property owners another way to turn assets into cash while letting investors tap institutional-grade commercial real estate.
All five listed REITs have beaten the Nifty 50 over the past year, posting total returns of roughly 8% to 22% against a 1% drop for the index. Embassy Office Parks, Mindspace Business Parks and Nexus Select Trust each topped 20% in that span. At Uniqus Consultech, the head of IPO advisory, Raghuram Kasiviswanathan, said, "REITs and infrastructure investment trusts in India are drawing growing investor interest as relatively stable distributions offer an alternative to volatile equity markets," and added, "Recent regulatory changes, strong performance and tax-efficiency measures have further boosted the appeal of these products."
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Knowledge Realty Trust hit the market in August last year, raising 48 billion rupees in an IPO that drew about 13 times the bids on offer. With Blackstone's stake moving to roughly 21.5% and Sattva Group becoming the top holder at around 32%, the message is simple: investor appetite for Indian commercial real estate exposure via listed trusts is growing. If you follow yield, stability and access to large-scale properties, this is a corner of the market worth keeping on your radar.
