It has made this maiden acquisition of a logistics facility with over 300,000 sq ft leasable area through a category II alternative investment fund, Mirae Asset Credit Opportunities Fund, for around ₹135 crore. This is one of the first such warehousing-related investments made by any mutual fund entity.
Asset management company Mirae Asset has ventured into logistics and industrial real estate in India by acquiring a pre-leased and income-producing warehousing property spread over 10 acres in Bhiwandi near Mumbai.
It has made this maiden acquisition of a logistics facility with over 300,000 sq ft leasable area through a category II alternative investment fund (AIF), Mirae Asset Credit Opportunities Fund, for around Rs 135 crore.
This is one of the first such warehousing-related investments made by any mutual fund entity.
“We have been scouting for opportunities selectively in major cities and are looking to acquire institutional grade assets,” said Hakim Ronak, lead-real estate, Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India).
The said warehouse is leased to global logistics major Rhenus Group that has picked up the space through a long-term lease of five years. The German company has presence across a total 31 locations across India with both multi-user and dedicated warehousing facilities spread over 2.5 million sq ft.
ET’s email query to Rhenus Group remained unanswered, while transaction advisor JLL India declined to comment.
The fund is also engaged in acquisition of an additional nearly 400,000 sq ft ready building, in the same location, leased to a leading ecommerce player and expects to close the transaction in the first quarter of 2023.
“We are also exploring opportunities at office acquisition deals including IT parks, corporate offices besides logistics & industrial space. We continue to be bullish on the Indian economy and the real estate sector in India. The demand levels for warehousing and office space in the country have remained positive,” said Jun Young Hong, director, Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India).
The fund plans to focus primarily on acquiring income-producing core logistics and industrial assets across the country.
Mirae Asset has multiple business entities across financial services in India, including a mutual fund business.
The deal assumes significance as it indicates the investment potential of the asset class given the rise in logistics and warehousing activity across the country.
Bhiwandi, situated on the outskirts of Mumbai, is a prime and one of the largest warehousing locations in India. In the last five years, it has become a hub for companies such as Amazon, Samsung, BMW, Flipkart and recently Maersk.
The demand for warehousing space has stood out in the last few quarters, led by penetration of ecommerce and growth of third-party logistics amid the pandemic.
The warehousing segment has been attracting interest from institutional investors, with more than $5 billion funds committed by private equity firms and pension funds such as CPPIB, Warburg Pincus and Ivanhoe Cambridge over the past five years.
A favourable regulatory environment in the backdrop of the government’s support through policy and reforms is expected to boost infrastructure spending further and in turn the demand for modern warehousing.
As of September end, the Mirae Asset Global Investments arm’s assets under management (AUM) stood at $187 billion. Its product portfolio includes fixed income, mutual funds, private equity and real estate.
In India, it was managing over Rs 115,000 crores AUM as on December 2022 under its mutual fund business. As of December 2021, Mirae Asset at a group level owned and managed over $17 billion worth of real estate properties across 16 countries.
