DLF has sold its IT Park located in the heart of Rajarhat Action Area 1 to a consortium of Calcutta-based developers for ₹637 crore, making it the largest realty transaction in Bengal.

Considered one of the largest IT parks in eastern India, DLF Techpark 1 will now be owned and managed by Primarc and RDB. The top-grade building, which is LEED platinum certified by USGBC, is spread over 1.49 million square feet of space across three buildings having marquee tenants such as IBM, Lexmark and Concentrix.

LEED Platinum is considered the highest mark of excellence for sustainability in construction and building management. Built in phases between 2007 and 2012 by DLF, it has 40-odd tenants with occupancy of 98 per cent. Following the acquisition by RDB Primarc Techno Park LLP, the city developers plan a makeover of the property.

“We have been looking to expand our commercial assets portfolio when this opportunity came up. We are thrilled to acquire this marquee asset which will go for a makeover in the next 12-13 months,” Sidharth Pansari, managing director of Primarc Group, said.

The consortium intends to spend around ₹40-50 crore to give the IT Park a facelift.

“We don’t just want to earn rental income but to make the property and facilities better and more contemporary for the occupants,” Pansari added. The new owners also hope to earn better rental income going forward. The average rent in the area is between ₹40 and ₹45 per square foot.

DLF did not say why it had decided to sell the IT Park business. However, many in the realty space believe that the company wants to focus on its key markets in Delhi and Gurgaon.

With DLF’s partial exit from the Calcutta real estate scene, the national players who remain active in the Bengal and Calcutta markets would be limited to Godrej Properties and Phoenix Mills, even as Shapoorji Pallonji and Tata Realty have a presence here.

In a statement to the bourses, Sriram Khattar, vice-chairman & MD, DLF rental business, said, “This is reflective of the value embedded in
our core assets created over the years with good quality tenant partners and asset management. It also demonstrates our commitment to continuously enhance shareholder value.”

Putting the transaction in perspective, Surekha Bihani, senior managing director of JLL, east & emerging markets, India, said, “This is not only the largest concluded real estate deal in Bengal’s history, but also one of the biggest acquisitions within the state by a Bengal-based company.”

JLL advised DLF in the deal while Fox & Mandal and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas were the legal advisers to Primarc-RDB and DLF, respectively.