US' Portman Holdings plans $300 mn realty India fund

US-based private equity player Portman Holdings is planning to raise a $300 million India- specific fund in the first half of next year

On Thursday, Portman Holdings picked up around 25 per cent stake in Tata Housing’s upcoming Rs 240-crore premium project in Bangalore for around Rs 65 crore, marking the Tata Group firm’s first PE alliance.

The Bangalore project is Portman Holdings’s third investment in the country, with the first two being with Kolte Patil Developers of Pune, the official said.

“So far our exposure in this market has been through balance-sheet fundings. Looking at opportunity in this market, we are keen to raise a corpus of $300 million in the first half of 2013 and that will be our first India-specific fund,” Portman Holdings India Managing Director Rahul Anand told PTI.

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Portman Holdings is a realty development, investment and management company with an exposure of around $6 billion. The Atlanta-based firm has developed over 50 million sq ft of premium real estate globally.

Anand said the fund will continue to look at housing projects in the country and is already in talks with Tata Housing for more investment opportunities.

“Our strategy in this market is ony residential. The partnership with the Tatas is our third investment in India and we will announce more alliances with the Tatas soon.”

The PE fund has already invested in two mid-segment Pune projects worth around 2.5 million sq ft area, being developed by Kolte Patil Group. With the Tata investment it will about 3.5 million sq ft of property.

While its project at Kharadi has a value of Rs 150 crore, the second one in southwest Pune is an equal joint venture with Kolte Patil Group, Anand said.

PTI