SINGAPORE (Feb 19): GIC has emerged as the frontrunner to acquire a slightly over 40% stake in the tenanted office space unit of leading southern developer Prestige Estates Projects for a consideration of US$200 million ($262 million), according to a Monday report by The Times of India.

Prestige currently has an overall rental portfolio of about 9 million sq ft, of which 5 million sq ft consists of office space, which includes tenants such as JP Morgan, Cisco, Microsoft and Mylan.

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) was also in contention to buy into the business unit of Prestige.

Prestige is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and has a market capitalisation US$1.8 billion. It also reported a profit of US$48 million on an operating revenue of US$566 million for its nine months ended Dec 31 2017.

GIC is an active backer of Indian income-yielding commercial real estate, having already invested more than US$2 billion, mostly into office buildings and shopping malls.

News of the possible acquisition came on the back of the group acquiring a 40% stake in the rental property arm of India’s largest listed developer DLF, with Blackstone Group.

This story, written by Samantha Chiew for The Edge Singapore, first appeared on Feb 19.