India Real Estate Market: According to a Grant Thornton report, the Indian real estate market witnessed deals worth USD 1.56 billion during the April-June period, which is almost eight times higher than the previous quarter. During the previous January-March quarter, deals worth only USD 200 million were witnessed. Consulting firm Grant Thornton India in its report Real Estate/REIT DealTracker-Providing M&A and PE Deal Insights mentioned that the Indian real estate market witnessed 19 deals worth USD 1.56 billion during the second quarter of this calendar year. Shabala Shinde, Partner and Real Estate Leader, Grant Thornton India, said, “In the second quarter of 2024, the Indian real estate market has shown strong activity, with 19 deals concluded with a total value of USD 1.6 billion. This is primarily driven by four high-value transactions. This surge reflects economic recovery, growing investor confidence and supportive government policies, indicating a promising period for deal making.” The consultancy said there has been a strong increase in overall deal activity, driven primarily by domestic transactions and a substantial increase in private equity (PE) investments.
According to the report, the value of M&A (mergers and acquisitions) deals during the second quarter was USD 123 million, compared to USD 32 million in the previous quarter. Private equity deals in April-June 2024 grew 8.5 times to USD 1,439 million from USD 168 million in the previous quarter. The Grant Thornton report highlighted that the top four deals (all from the PE segment) alone accounted for 85 per cent of the total deal value. Brookfield India Real Estate Trust’s acquisition of four Grade A commercial assets in Delhi from Bharti Enterprises for USD 723 million was the biggest transaction of the quarter. In the residential development segment, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Kotak Alternative Investment Fund invested USD 240 million in Prestige Estates Projects, and Indiabulls Construction acquired Sky Forest Projects from Blackstone for USD 78 million, the report said. Knight Frank India in its latest report – Private Equity Investment Trends in India: H1 2024 said that a total of USD 3 billion (bn) of PE investments have been made in Indian real estate in the first half of 2024, registering a growth of 15% YoY from USD 2.6 billion in H1 2023. The warehousing sector accounted for the largest share of total PE investments at 52%, followed by residential (29%) and office (20%) in Jan-June 2024. PE investments in the residential sector also witnessed a significant growth of over 209% from USD 277 million in H1 2023 to USD 854 million (mn) in H1 2024.
