Blackstone’s Knowledge Realty Trust raises Rs 1,400 cr in India’s maiden REIT pre-IPO round

Blackstone Group-backed Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Knowledge Realty Trust (KRT) has raised over Rs 1,400 crore through a pre-initial public offering (IPO) placement, said persons familiar with the development

With this, the REIT has become the first-ever REIT in India to conclude such a pre-IPO fundraising exercise. The round was fully subscribed by domestic high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and family offices, signalling robust investor confidence ahead of the REITs proposed public issue.

JM Financial, Radhakishan Damani, and 360 One Wealth Management are among key investors of this pre-IPO funding round.

KRT, a joint entity of Blackstone and Sattva Developers, filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in March to raise Rs 6,200 crore via an IPO. With the pre-IPO placement concluded, the REIT will look to mop up the remaining Rs 4,800 crore through the public issuance in July–August.

This will be the second largest REIT in Asia by size and the largest in India based on the gross asset value. As per its DRHP, KRT holds 30 Grade-A office assets spread across six major cities including Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurugram, and GIFT City.

The total portfolio is spread across 48.1 million sq ft as of September 2024, comprising 37.1 million sq ft of completed properties, 2.8 million sq ft under construction, and 8.2 million sq ft earmarked for future development.ET’s email queries to JM Financial, Radhakishan Damani, and 360 One Wealth Management remained unanswered, while Blackstone declined to comment.The fundraising comes at a time when India’s commercial office market continues to show resilience and growth, driven by robust demand from global capability centers, IT/ITeS firms, and flexible workspace operators.

The pre-IPO round also highlights the growing sophistication of India’s capital markets and the increasing appetite among domestic investors for yield-generating, asset-backed instruments.

KRT’s IPO will mark the fifth REIT listing in India, following Embassy Office Parks REIT, Mindspace Business Parks REIT, Brookfield India REIT, and Nexus Select Trust.

Blackstone and Embassy Group kickstarted India’s REIT market with the Embassy Office Parks REIT IPO in April 2019, raising Rs 4,750 crore and managing 33 million sq ft.

This was followed by the Mindspace Business Parks REIT, backed by K Raheja Corp and Blackstone, which raised Rs 4,500 crore and oversees 34.8 million sq ft. Blackstone also sponsored the Nexus Select Trust, India’s first retail-focused REIT, managing 10.3 million sq ft.