Brookfield Asset Management – A Canadian firm with $ 350 billion of assets under management and a 120 year heritage, seems to be favouring India, and is on a deal making spree in the country with acquisition of hotels, real estate and a massive gas pipeline.
Just last week, an investment trust led by Brookfield bought Reliance Industries’ East West Pipeline – a 1,400 km pipeline that transports natural gas and connects Kakinada on the eastern Andhra coast to Bharuch in Gujarat on the west coast for an acquisition price of ₹ 13,000 crore.
Previously, Brookfield had invested around $ 7 billion in India, which includes the acquisition of office and retail assets of Hiranandani Developers in Mumbai, purchase of Equinox Business Park from Essar Group, which is a commercial property in Mumbai’s business district of Bandra Kurla Complex and has also invested in roads and renewable energy.
However, its latest acquisition on Monday, of hospitality chain, Hotel Leela Ventures is the one that’s making waves. At a transaction value of ₹ 3,950 crore, Brookfield marked its entry into the Indian hospitality sector and the promoters of the Leela brand, led by C.P. Krishnan Nair, who founded the group in 1986, will transfer assets, properties, management and other contracts of Leela Hotels at Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Udaipur; which collectively contributed 88% of the net worth in F.Y. 2018.
However, Brookfield is not alone in its bullishness on India; almost all sovereign funds from West Asia, Singapore as well as Canadian Pension Funds are recognising India as a key destination and purchasing assets here.
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