India's DLF mulls auction bid for New Delhi mall with base price of $366 mln-sources

Sammaan Capital

06/08/2022 24:30

(Repeats with no changes to text)
    By Aditya Kalra and Aditi Shah
    NEW DELHI, Aug 4 (Reuters) - India's biggest real estate
developer DLF  DLF.NS  is evaluating a bid for a prominent New
Delhi shopping mall which has a starting auction price of $366
million, according to two sources and a public notice seen by
Reuters.
    The 1.2 million square feet "Ambience Mall" in the posh
southern district of India's capital has been put up for auction
as its current owner, the Ambience Group, has not paid debt of
$149 million to Indiabulls Housing Finance  INBF.NS  and other
creditors, according to a previously unreported public auction
notice.
    DLF will review data related to the mall's occupancy status
and contractual obligations and then consider whether to bid for
it or not, one of the sources with direct knowledge said on
Thursday.
    DLF declined to comment. A director of Ambience Group, Aman
Gehlot, declined to comment on the notice or auction process.
Indiabulls did not immediately respond to Reuters queries. 
    The Ambience mall houses prominent brands like Swedish
fashion retailer H&M  HMb.ST  and Uniqlo, owned by Japan's Fast
Retailing  9983.T . It is located right next to two other giant
DLF malls on the same stretch, including one that houses luxury
brands.
    "It's a very well-located asset. It's become a destination
in itself because of other malls around it. It's a bouquet of
brands together," said the second source who declined to be
named.  
    The Ambience Group's website states it has interest in
residential and office real estate, as well as shopping malls
and hotels. 
    A public notice stated the auction will end on Sept. 5 and
that the reserve price for the mall was 29 billion rupees ($366
million). It was not immediately clear when the auction began.
    An Indiabulls executive involved in the auction process told
Reuters two companies had expressed interest in the mall
already, but declined to share their names. 

 (Reporting by Aditya Kalra and Aditi Shah in New Delhi; editing
by Marla Dickerson)
 ((aditya.kalra@tr.com; Twitter @adityakalra;))