DLF’s promoters to sell 40% stake in rental arm by March-end

Realty major DLF today said its promoters are likely to sell their 40 per cent stake in the company’s rental arm DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (DCCDL) by the end of this fiscal.

In a conference call with analysts, DLF’s CFO Ashok Tyagi also gave sales bookings guidance of around Rs 3,500 crore in the current fiscal. The company had achieved sales bookings of Rs 3,850 crore in the last fiscal.

Giving update on the promoters’ plan to sell stake in the DCCDL, DLF Senior Executive Director (Finance) Saurabh Chawla said the process to divest the stake has started.

“We hope to sign the proposed deal in this fiscal but fund will come in the next financial year,” he added.

Chawla said the proposed transaction is aimed at removing the conflict of interest with promoters holding stakes in the parent company DLF and also in its subsidiary DCCDL.

Last month, DLF’s board decided that promoters will sell their 40 per cent stake in the DCCDL. The proposed deal is estimated to be valued at around Rs 12,000 crore. DLF would continue to hold 60 per cent stake in the DCCDL.

Promoters would re-invest a significant part of the amount realised from the proposed sale in DLF Ltd, which in turn would utilise this fund to trim its debt that stood at more than Rs 22,520 crore as on September 30.

DLF has a rental income of about Rs 2,400 crore, of which DCCDL contributes Rs 2,200 crore.

Chawla also said that the company has not dropped plan to launch the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).

“We will create a large rental business platform in partnership with large, long term, institutional investors. This platform creation is precursor to REITs,” he added.

DLF is the country’s largest real estate developer with a land bank of nearly 300 million sq ft, of which around 40 million sq ft is under construction.

PTI