New Delhi: Nexus Select Trust, a real estate investment trust that operates under Nexus Malls and is managed by private equity firm Blackstone, has successfully completed its initial public offering (IPO) in India. The IPO, which opened for subscription on May 9, was more than five times oversubscribed, with bids for 1.01 billion units received for the offering of 185.26 million units, excluding anchor allotment, according to stock exchange data.
The successful IPO of Nexus Select Trust comes at a time when market volatility and macroeconomic concerns have caused some corporations to postpone or modify their plans to list in India. It is India’s second-largest IPO this year after Mankind Pharma’s share sale, which raised Rs 4,326 crore.
Nexus Malls is seeking a valuation of USD 3 billion and plans to raise Rs 3,200 crore (about USD 390 million) through the share offering. This includes a fresh offering of Rs 1,400 crore and a Rs 1,800 crore offer of sale by Blackstone. The REIT sold about 144 million units to anchor investors at Rs 100 per unit prior to the IPO, with Tata Investment Corp, HDFC and ICICI mutual funds, as well as HDFC Life Insurance, SBI Life Insurance, Star Health, and SBI General Insurance, among the anchor investors.
Nexus Malls owns and manages 17 commercial assets in 13 different cities, and is India’s first retail REIT to go public. The success of its IPO is a positive sign for the Indian capital market, and could encourage more corporations to consider listing in the country.
The IPO was managed by bankers from Axis Capital, IIFL Securities, and BofA Securities India, and the REIT will be listed on the public exchanges on May 19. Notably, Apple Inc recently established its second fully-owned store in the country last month in a Nexus-owned retail complex in New Delhi, highlighting the company’s strong commercial assets and potential for future growth.
