INRnews - Indian Real Estate & Property News

Mr. M. Murali, Managing Director of Shriram Properties, stated, "We are excited to be partnering with Walton Street Capital and Starwood Capital, both of which have substantial experience in building destination properties. By investing in this transformational project, two major global real estate investment management firms have joined hands to help shape the future of Kolkata real estate."

The project, representing one of the largest-scale partnerings of global real estate private equity firms in India, will be on land previously belonging to the Hindustan Motors plant in Uttarpara, and will comprise approximately 20 million square feet of residential, retail, office and civic infrastructure. Starwood Capital and Walton Street Capital, two leading private U.S. real estate investment firms led by Barry Sternlicht and Neil Bluhm respectively, will remain closely involved in working with Shriram Properties on the vision and execution of the project. The master plan for the project will be created by the internationally renowned architectural firm, HOK.

"This is a project that we are very passionate about; Kolkata is among the most exciting emerging cities in Asia, not just India. We look forward to working diligently with Shriram to create a project which will be a landmark in India. Walton Street has been building a relationship with Shriram and its team for some time now. We and Shriram are delighted to partner in this historic transaction with Starwood Capital, with whom Walton Street has had a long-standing relationship," said Sourav Goswami, Managing Director of Walton Street Capital India Private Ltd.

Balaji Rao, Managing Director of Starwood Capital India Advisors added, "Beyond the scope and scale of the project itself, this venture is path-breaking, bringing to the forefront the concept of a partnership between international investment firms for structuring a highly complex real estate transaction. Starwood Capital is committed to playing a strategic role in this alliance and creating a world-class integrated township. The group is focused on expanding its footprint in India both in real estate and the hospitality sectors, across asset classes and geographical regions."

Shriram Properties is the real estate arm of the 25,000 crore (USD 6 Billion) Shriram Group. Shriram Group is one of the most respected industrial houses in India, and has diversified business interests in areas such as real estate, truck financing, insurance, consumer finance and information technology, employing over 15,000 people in its various verticals. Shriram Properties was founded in 1995, and over the past 12 years has built over 4.5 million square feet of residential and commercial space in Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbotore and Hyderabad. The company has built a team of almost 300 people in 5 offices throughout India, and is currently developing a portfolio of 70 million square feet of space across India, including residential, office, retail, hotel and civic infrastructure. The company is among the largest and most reputable developers in Southern India, and delivers international standard residential and commercial properties to its customers.

Walton Street Capital, LLC was founded in 1995 and is a premier, private real estate investment company. Through its Funds, Walton Street has received equity commitments totaling in excess of $3.5 billion from public and corporate pension funds, foreign institutions, insurance companies and banks, endowments and foundations, trusts and high net worth individuals. Walton Street has invested and/or committed to invest in approximately 162 separate transactions in U.S. and international real estate, including the development and acquisition of office, hotel, retail, industrial, multi-family, for-sale residential, senior and student housing, and golf assets through both individual, portfolio and company-level transactions with a gross asset cost of approximately $14 billion.

Starwood Capital Group Global, LLC is a privately-held global real estate investment firm based in Greenwich, CT (with its predecessor Starwood affiliates "Starwood"). Founded in 1991, Starwood specializes in the creation and acquisition of real estate-related investments on behalf of commingled investment funds that are sponsored and created by Starwood or its affiliated entities. Such real estate-related investments include residential and commercial land development, multifamily, hotel, office, retail, mixed-use, industrial, health clubs, golf and mezzanine debt. Starwood's clients include public and private retirement programs, university endowments, foundations, international and high net worth investors. During the past sixteen years, on behalf of its funds, Starwood and its affiliates have invested approximately $6 billion of equity capital
in transactions representing over $30 billion of asset value.

Starwood, on behalf of its affiliated funds, has led the formation and/or growth of several market leading companies including Groupe Taittinger and Societe du Louvre, Europe's second largest hotel network; iStar Financial, the leading publicly traded finance company specializing in commercial real estate mortgage, mezzanine and net lease financing; Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, a leading global owner/operator of hotels, Westin Hotels & Resorts which was merged into Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in January 1998; Equity Residential Properties Trust, one of the premier US multifamily REITs; and National Golf Properties/American Golf Corporation, the largest owner/operator of golf courses and related facilities in the U.S., who, together with its private sister company, owned, leased or managed 255 golf courses.