Firm News
Mishcon de Reya advises on the first Euronext listing of Indian Property Fund
| Release Date: |
06 December 2006 |
Deal Completion Date: 06 December 2006
Mishcon de Reya advised Saffron Capital Advisors and Yatra Capital Limited on the establishment of an investment company focussed on the Indian real estate market, an Institutional Placing of €100 million and Admission to Euronext.
Yatra Capital Limited is based in Jersey and has listed its shares on Eurolist by Euronext in Amsterdam. This is the first fund raised by the manager, Saffron Capital Advisors, who are also based in Mauritius. To make the vehicle tax efficient for investors, Yatra Capital will be investing through a Mauritius subsidiary K2 Property Limited.
Mishcon de Reya were the principal lawyers, responsible for co-ordinating the international team of legal and other advisors in India, Mauritius, Cyprus, Jersey, Netherlands and the U.S.
Senior Corporate Assistant, Christopher Jones led the team with assistance from Joseph Kayode-Ali and Alice Galbraith. Corporate Tax Principal, Vishvas Kanji advised on the UK tax aspects of the transaction.
The transaction is the first of several India-focused listed investment companies to be advised by the Firm as part of its India initiative, which is led by managing partner Kevin Gold.
Commenting on the transaction, Mishcon de Reya’s Christopher Jones said: “India is a very exciting investment destination, but involves a number of unique challenges for investors. This was a complex transaction across multiple jurisdictions, and we were very pleased to have been involved with the entire process of establishing and listing the fund from start to finish. This is also the first Euronext listing for the Firm, and I believe, the first India-focused investment company (and Jersey company) to be listed on Euronext.”
Fairfax I.S. PLC acted as sole placing agent on the transaction with legal advice from Nishith Desai (India) and Carey Olsen (Jersey) amongst others. ABN AMRO Bank N.V acted as the Listing Agent.
Notes:
About Yatra Capital
Yatra Capital has been established to provide international investors including Morley Fund Management, Fortis Investments and Standard Life, with an opportunity to capitalise on the real estate market in India, where the directors believe there are significant opportunities arising from the Indian Government’s recent liberalisation of the foreign direct investment guidelines, coupled with the rapid growth of the Indian economy. Yatra Capital will target capital growth for its investors through the ownership, development and sale of high quality residential, commercial and retail properties in India. Investments will be diversified across different asset classes and locations in India with a primary focus on tier II and tier III cities. The company will also consider select strategic opportunities in tier I cities where the directors believe there is value to be gained.
About Saffron Capital Advisers:
Saffron Capital Advisors, an asset management advisory firm dedicated to Indian real estate, will act as fund and asset manager to the company. Through its extensive network in India, Saffron has already established a pipeline of potential investments for Yatra Capital with a value of around €390 million and expects the company to be fully invested in around 12-18 months.