Blackstone on May 10 announced that funds managed by Blackstone Real Estate have acquired Embassy Industrial Parks from Warburg Pincus and Embassy Group in one of India’s largest logistics transactions worth Rs 5,250 crore. 

Embassy Industrial Parks comprises 10.6 million sq ft of modern, Grade-A logistics and warehousing assets near urban centres. 

Blackstone is among the top-10 business groups in India by total value of assets, and the transaction will help reinforce the company’s leading position in office, retail and logistics, the company has said. 

Embassy Industrial Parks’ warehouses are located across major industrial hubs in India, including Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, and Pune, and are leased to leading e-commerce and retail players. 

“We are excited to announce this acquisition of a best-in-class logistics portfolio from Embassy Industrial Parks. Logistics is one of the firm’s highest global conviction themes, anchored by our belief that e-commerce trends will further fuel demand for logistics space, especially near city centres,” said Asheesh Mohta, head of Blackstone’s Real Estate India Acquisitions. 

This is particularly true in India, where e-commerce is in its nascent stage of development and has tremendous opportunities, driven by positive trends in urbanisation, domestic consumption and the emerging retail sector, which remains heavily underpenetrated, compared to major economies around the world, Mohta said. Since 2010, Blackstone has acquired more than 1.2 billion sq ft of logistics. 

Tuhin Parikh, Blackstone’s head of Real Estate India, said: “We are committed to growing our presence in India. For the past 16 years, we have been partnering with local developers and governments to transform assets and businesses and help communities prosper. We have successfully launched the country’s first two REITs, with the very first Embassy Office Parks REIT marking its second-year anniversary this month, and recently announced the acquisition of a portfolio of commercial properties.”