INDIA – American alternative asset management firm, Blackstone Group has signed a definitive agreement to buy Global Village Tech Park, owned by Coffee Day Enterprise limited.
The Coffee Day Enterprise, parent company of India’s leading coffee chain Coffee Day will be selling the the 90-acre, IT-focussed Global Village Tech Park to Blackstone along Salarpuria Sattva for about Rs 2,770 crore (US$375m).
The potential deal was first announced on August 2. Coffee Day said in an exchange notification in mid-August that a non-binding letter of intent between CDEL and Blackstone was signed after the former’s board approved the divestment.
According to an ET Retail report, talks between Blackstone and Siddhartha had reached an advanced stage last December with both sides close to signing a term sheet for a deal pegged at about Rs 2,575 crore (US$358m).
Blackstone is said to have revised the deal size upward by about Rs 150 crore (US$20.86m) as a goodwill gesture.
The deal is expected to help India’s largest coffee chain operator repair its balance sheet. According to a recent regulatory filling Coffee Day Enterprises had accrued a total debt of Rs 4,970 crore (US$691.3m).
The company has turned to disposing some of its assets in a move that seeks to refinance its existing debt and raising additional facilities to repay debt in CDEL and its subsidiaries.
The Indian cafe chain operator has also appointed IDFC Securities as the advisor of company and its subsidiaries for identifying various strategic options including a possible divestiture of its holding in Coffee Day Global Ltd and any other group company.
CDEL also owns Tanglin Developments Ltd, Way2Wealth, and Coffee Day Hotels and Resorts Ltd in addition to Sical Logistics Ltd (an integrated logistics company) and Coffee Day Global Ltd.
The company has unveiled plans of selling its entire promoter stake in Sical Logistics. Coffee Day also intends to use the proceeds to meet its working capital requirements.
In April this year, Coffee Day Enterprises agreed to sell 49% stake in its consultancy services business to Japan-based Impact HD for at US$15 million (Rs 104.45 crore).
