Unitech aims to raise Rs 900 cr from asset sale by June

Unitech, the country’s second largest real estate developer, plans to generate Rs 900 crore from the sale of two hotels in Gurgaon and a commercial office complex in Saket, New Delhi, by the end of June, a top company official has said. “We will close the deal by the end of next month,’’ the official said, without disclosing the name of the buyers. The company plans to generate Rs 1,600 crore by selling assets, including plots and residential projects, by the end of the current fiscal. Earlier this year, the company sold its Marriott Courtyard hotel, comprising 199 rooms, in Gurgaon for Rs 231 crore to a high net worth individual based out of Delhi. The Sanjay Chandra-led company also plans to reduce its debt to Rs 4,000-Rs 5,000 crore by the second quarter of the next financial year from the sale of assets, the official said. As on March 2009, Unitech had Rs 8,900 crore worth of debt on its books. “We have charted our strategy and will repay Rs 1,000 crore debt by the end of June,” the official said. The company is also looking to sell its school and hospital plots. “We have around 20 school and hospital plots in the national capital region (NCR) and are negotiating with prospective buyers,” the official added. The company claims to have received bookings for 2,000 residential units in the past 45 days in its Gurgaon and Chennai-based mid-income housing projects. In April 2009, the company raised Rs 1,625 crore from the sale of shares to select investors, as part of a plan to repay debt and invest in affordable housing projects. “The target of generating 1,600 crore by the end of this fiscal should not be a problem. However, bringing the debt level down to Rs 4,000-5,000 crore by the second quarter of FY11 would depend on the company’s ability to market its projects aggressively,” said a Mumbai-based analyst. The promoters of the company have pledged 38 per cent shares with the institutional lenders.