Red Fort + Sumitomo to bid for Merrill’s realty fund

New Delhi-based Red Fort Capital Advisors, along with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, part of Japan-based Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, are jointly bidding to buy management rights of Bank of America Corp Merrill Lynch’s $2.65 billion Asian Real Estate Opportunity Fund.

The private equity company has already raised the money for the bid and expects the deal announcement by the end of the year.

“We are jointly bidding with Sumitomo for the whole fund. How much the contributions are going to be from each player has not been finalised yet.

We already have the funds for the bid… we expect the bidding and final winner to be announced by the end of this year,” a senior Red Fort Capital Advisors official told DNA.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is expecting bids from several investors, which include Blackstone and Apollo Investment Management, to sell management rights of the fund.
The value of the management rights could not be immediately ascertained, but some media reports suggested it would be a few hundred million dollars.

Meanwhile, Red Fort Capital will acquire a nearly 50% stake in a Rs 1,550 crore Noida residential project being developed by the 3C Company. Red Fort has already invested about Rs 150 crore in the project.