Sunil Mantri to raise Rs 250-cr from intnl PE by June

Mumbai, Feb 27 (PTI) Leading realty developer, the SunilMantri Group (SMG), is in advanced talks with an internationalprivate equity (PE) firm to raise around Rs 250-crore by Junethis year, a top company official said today.

The funds would be used to fuel the expansion of thefirm''s upcoming projects.

"We are in advanced talks with an international PE firmas we plan to raise around Rs 250-crore. Due-diligence is onand we hope to close the deal by June this year," SMG''sChairman, Sunil Mantri told PTI here.

The Mumbai-based developer is open to dilute a minoritystake to raise the funds. However, he did not divulge furtherdetails.

The firm has earmarked around Rs 500-crore towards theexpansion of its upcoming projects for the current year. Ofthis, while Rs 250-crore would come as private equity, therest would be from internal accruals, Mantri added.

On its upcoming properties, Mantri said the company,which is mainly into mid-segment residential properties, willlaunch its first high-end luxury property at Malabar Hills inthe city.

"We are coming out with our first ever high-end propertyat Malabar Hills and will be launching the same by Diwali thisyear. The project cost is around Rs 150-crore and will taketwo years to complete," he added.

Besides, the group also plans to launch five residentialprojects in Gwalior, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Solapur inthe current calender year.

Of the new properties, Gwalior is a residential townshipspread across 375-acres of land. The project will take off byend of March.

When asked if the realty sector would witness any pricecorrection, Mantri said though the high-end residentialsegment would see a slight correction, the mid-segment wouldremain firm.