Orbit close to private equity deal

Orbit Corporation, the Mumbai-based real estate player which is focused on redevelopment projects, is in the final stages of closing a private equity deal for its high-end Hi-City project coming up in Mandwa near Alibaug, sources close to the development said.

The source told DNA, “Orbit is looking at an equity fusion for its Hi-City project subsidiary by selling 20-25% stake of the project and the company has been valued at over Rs 150 crore. The company is going to sign the deal soon.”

The private equity fund in  question is an international realty fund, though the amount to be infused could not be ascertained.

The Hi-City project is a beach water front project where the developer will start constructing sample villas from the first quarter of the next financial year.

Orbit Corp has already acquired 130 acres and is looking at expanding it to 200 acres. The project is entitled to a floor space index of 0.5 and the developable area is 3.5 million square feet.

The company has already spent more than Rs 230 crore in the project and the total project cost of construction is Rs 700 crore.
Pujit Agarwal, managing director, Orbit Corp, had told DNA a week back, “The Mandwa project will take seven years to complete and the first phase will be completed in the next 1.5-2 years. We expect to break even with positive cash flow flowing in from the next 3 years.”

The company has recently raised Rs 145 crore through qualified institutional placement route.

Repeated attempts to reach the company were unsuccessful.
An analyst tracking the company said if the money comes through then they would be in a better position to raise more debt for the project. The company has a debt to equity ratio of 0.6.