Vanguard buys 11.4 mn units of Nexus Select Trust for Rs 158 cr

Investment management firm Vanguard Group on Wednesday bought more than 11.4 million units in REIT firm Nexus Select Trust for ₹158 crore through open market transactions, while Morgan Stanley sold its stake in the company.

Nexus Select Trust is India’s first real estate investment trust (REIT) backed by retail properties.

According to the bulk deal data available on the National Stock Exchange, the US-based Vanguard Group purchased 1,14,50,476 units, amounting to a 0.75% stake in Nexus Select Trust.

The units were picked up at an average price of ₹138.42 apiece, taking the transaction value to ₹158.49 crore.

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore disposed of 7.84 million units of the REIT firm at an average price of ₹138.33 per piece, taking the deal value to ₹108.47 crore.Details of other sellers of the REIT firm’s units could not be ascertained.Additionally, Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore also purchased 3,003 units of Nexus Select Trust.Nexus Select Trust units rose 1.16% to close at ₹138.01 a unit on the NSE.

Last week, global investment firm Blackstone sold 315.5 million units in its REIT firm Nexus Select Trust for around ₹4,354.90 crore as part of a strategy to monetise its real estate portfolio.

Domestic mutual funds, including ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, and HDFC MF picked up units of Nexus Select Trust. Among foreign companies, US-based financial services company Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley acquired stakes in the company, while French asset management firm Carmignac also bought units of the REIT firm.

Nexus Select Trust’s portfolio comprises 17 shopping malls with a gross leasable area of 9.9 million sq ft spread across 14 cities, two hotel assets of 354 keys and three office assets with a gross leasable area of 1.3 million square feet.