NEW DELHI: DLF, the country's
biggest real estate firm, will sell a convention centre
project in Delhi and its wind power business for about 1,800 crore early next
fiscal, a senior company executive said.
The developer, which had a debt of
over 22,000 crore at the end of September, is hoping to raise 3,000 crore in
the current fiscal and about 3,500 crore in 2012-13 by selling its non-core
businesses.
The executive, who did not want to
be named, said DLF is close to finalising a joint venture
agreement for the convention centre at Dwarka, in west Delhi, with a Japanese
company that executes mega mall projects. The source declined to name
the company but said DLF may hold a very small stake in the joint venture as
part of a structured deal. The convention centre is expected to fetch DLF about
800 crore.
DLF had acquired a 35-acre plot from
the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in 2007 for 901
crore to ready a convention centre ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. But
the project, which was to include three hotels, commercial complexes and meeting areas, could not
take off. Later, when the company wanted to exit the project and sought a
refund from the DDA, the development body refused after seeking legal advise.
A top DDA official told ET,
"DLF has sought permission to change the structure of the company that has
got the land for the convention centre. They want to convert it into a
consortium with a foreign partner, but DDA has not taken any decision
yet."
The DLF executive said the developer
has started negotiations with investors for its wind power business and expects
to raise 1,000 crore through its sale.
A DLF spokesperson declined to
comment when contacted by ET.
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To pare its debt, DLF has decided to sell its non-core assets, which include land, special economic zones, hospitality business and some office buildings. The company's debt pile rose nearly 1,000 crore in three months to 22,519 crore at the end of September.
DLF has said it will raise 3,000 crore this fiscal through sale of its "Noida IT Park, Pune IT SEZ, some select land transactions and hospitality assets". Of this, the company has already raised 1,200 crore. Source: Economic Times
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