Lodha announces $1 billion partnership with Ivanhoe Cambridge, Bain Capital to develop Green Digital Infrastructure Platform

May 12, 2022

Multi-city platform serving needs of the Digital economy with high degree of environmental sustainability: industrial and logistic parks and in-city fulfilment centres Bain Capital and Ivanhoé Cambridge contribute extensive experience supporting differentiated real estate platforms globally

Mumbai, May 11, 2022: Lodha, India's No.1* real estate developer, today announced a partnership with Bain Capital and Ivanhoé Cambridge to develop a next-generation green digital infrastructure platform. The platform will establish a pan-India presence in the digital infrastructure space that includes logistics and light industrial parks as well as in-city fulfillment centers. The platform will jointly invest ~USD 1 billion to create ~30 million sq. ft. of operating assets to serve India's digital economy. Each of the 3 partners will have a ~33% equity interest in the property ownership, whilst Lodha will lead the development, operations and management of the assets.

Commenting on the partnership, Abhishek Lodha, MD & CEO, Lodha said, "With the rapid digitization of our economy and the progress of 'Make in India' combined with the China + 1 strategy of most global manufacturers, we see that there is a huge demand for Grade-A digital infrastructure in our country. Following the government's focus on improving logistics efficiency and creating jobs in different parts of the country, the platform will plan the development of industrial and logistics parks as well in-city fulfillment centers across multiple cities in India. And we will focus on building and operating this digital infrastructure to the highest levels of environmental sustainability with the view to creating a global benchmark. We're delighted to expand our partnership with 2 marquee global investors - Ivanhoé Cambridge and Bain Capital, who bring extensive experience in this asset class and dedicated resources to support the growth of this platform."

The first project is a ~110-acre logistics and industrial park development at Palava, an established location for digital infrastructure in Mumbai. Additionally, the platform has already started looking at the pan-India acquisitions of land and developed/ under-development projects in these asset classes.

"This is an exciting partnership that brings together an experienced real estate developer with deep digital infrastructure capabilities with the complementary support of global investors with long track records of success in commercial real estate," said Ali Haroon, a Managing Director at Bain Capital. "We see a sustained, thematic opportunity to support India's journey to a digital-first economy with high-quality infrastructure, which we believe can have a very positive impact on communities, consumers and businesses throughout the country" he added.

"This partnership opens up new perspectives for expansion of our logistics portfolio in India, a high conviction thesis well supported by strong sector fundamentals as India enters a digital super cycle", commented Chanakya Chakravarti, Vice President & Managing Director, India, at Ivanhoé Cambridge. "We believe the Indian logistics ecosystem continues to offer opportunities driven by positive trends in urbanization, domestic consumption, new impetus to the light manufacturing sector, modernizing multi-modal infrastructure and the rapidly evolving e-commerce sector, which remains largely underpenetrated, compared to other major economies globally. We look forward to expanding our logistics footprint by leveraging Lodha's proprietary in-city sites, access to land pads in key warehousing nodes and their execution capabilities. The new partnership potentially enables Ivanhoé Cambridge access to near city logistics opportunities as operators pivot to establish same day delivery solutions thus creating differentiated value in our portfolio construct and its scale", he added.

Bain Capital is a leading global investment platform with deep experience supporting the development of best-in-class logistics, industrial, warehousing and digital assets. Real estate is a core focus of Bain Capital Asia's Special Situation business and this transaction follows the firm's approach to building value-added partnerships with skilled local developers.

Ivanhoé Cambridge, a global real estate industry leader and subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a global investment group, is involved in developing and investing in high-quality real estate properties.

Lodha is already developing ~300 acres of Industrial and Logistics Park near Navi Mumbai, which is almost completely leased out. The company had recently announced a JV with Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing (MSREI) for developing 72 acres at the park. The park is home to global clients such as FM Logistic, Flyjac Logistics, Aptar Pharma and many more, testifying the unique proposition of Grade-A industrial and warehousing park with high-quality infrastructure.

* By residential sales for FY 16-22

About Lodha

Lodha is among the largest real estate developer in India that delivers with scale since 1980s. Core business of Lodha is residential real estate development with a focus on affordable and mid-income housing. The company also has a growing industrial & logistics park business where in a short span of time, it has scaled up and made its mark with JVs already signed with marquee investors. Lodha has delivered more than 82 million square feet of real estate and is currently developing ~98 million square feet under its ongoing and planned portfolio. The company has ~4400 acres of land beyond its ongoing and planned portfolio which will be utilized in developing further Residential, Commercial and Industrial & Logistics spaces. Thriving at building the world's finest developments, Lodha has created several iconic landmarks across the MMR notable among which are The World Towers, Lodha Altamount, Lodha Park, Lodha New Cuffe Parade and Palava City.