Godrej Industries Group's family office sells 47.37 lakh shares in Sobha Ltd for around Rs 860 crore

Godrej Industries Group's family office arm Anamudi Real Estates has sold 47.37 lakh shares in realty firm Sobha Ltd for about Rs 860 crore through bock deals on the stock exchanges, as part of its strategy to monetise investments, sources said.

Anamudi Real Estates' stake in Bengaluru-based Sobha Ltd stood at 9.99 per cent before this block deal, which has now come down to around 5 per cent.

According to sources, 47,37,548 shares were sold on the exchanges at around Rs 1,810 apiece, aggregating to around Rs 860 crore, to global and domestic institutional investors, they added.

Sobha's shares closed at Rs 1,862.50 apiece on BSE on Thursday. Shares were trading down 3.18 per cent to Rs 1,803.35 apiece at 1343 hrs on Friday.Sources said the Godrej Industries Group family office has sold shares in Sobha Ltd at a 10-times multiple of the original investments including dividends over a 4-year holding period.

The divestment is part of its strategy to monetise the investments, they added.

Godrej Industries group could not be immediately contacted for confirmation.

Sobha Ltd is one of the leading real estate developers in the country. It recently raised Rs 2,000 crore through a rights issue.

Sobha Ltd's promoters currently hold 52.77 per cent stake in the company. The company's market capitalisation currently stands at around Rs 19,000 crore.

In a recent interview with PTI, Sobha Group founder PNC Menon had said the Group has chalked out an aggressive expansion plan for its India business and will soon enter the Mumbai luxury housing market.

Sobha Group, which was founded in 1995, has real estate business in Dubai and India. The name of Dubai entity is Sobha Realty, while the Indian entity is Sobha Ltd.

Sobha Ltd, which got listed on the Indian stock exchanges in 2006, is one of the leading real estate players in South India. It posted a 28 per cent growth in sales bookings during the last financial year to Rs 6,644.1 crore from Rs 5,197.8 crore in the preceding fiscal.

The company aims to achieve more than a four-fold jump in annual sales bookings to Rs 30,000 crore in the next 4-5 years, Menon had said.