Edelweiss to raise $1 bn for its first realty fund

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Despite a rough market scenario and inadequate interest from limited partners (LPs) in the Indian real estate segment, Edelweiss Alternative Asset Advisors Ltd, is raising up to $1 billion for its first residential real estate fund, confirmed a top executive of the company.

The fund will explore for investment opportunities in five property markets—National Capital Region (NCR), Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Chennai. “We are looking to partner mid-sized developers in real estate projects that have already got the key approvals. The fund will not provide capital to buy land or invest in an early stage of a project,” says Venkat Ramaswamy, executive director and co-head of global asset management, Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd.

Edelweiss has been making investments in real estate projects mainly out of its own balance sheet since last 6-7 years. However as it gears up for a full-fledged fund, it looks to tap investors in Asia, Europe and the US this time. “Edelweiss is a meaningful investor, we have an extremely good team with strong real estate market connects in our five addressed cities, which is essential in terms of deploying and recovery of capital,” Ramaswamy added.