HOME AND OFFICE TURF Sheth Developers in Talks with JM Financial, Audi to Sell Office Space

Developer plans to sell a part of its 8-storey office building in Mumbai; deal size could be over . 420 cr Realty developer Sheth Developers is in talks with JM Financial and luxury carmaker Audi to sell part of its 8-storey office building Cnergy at Prabhadevi in Central Mumbai, said persons familiar with the development. The size of the transaction could be over . 420 crore.  Close to 2 lakh sq ft of space in this commercial and IT building is on offer with JM Financial having shown interest to pick up the major portion, said one of the persons. However, the exact split between the car maker and financial services company could not be ascertained.  As per the ongoing negotiations, JM Financial is expected to pay close to . 300 crore while Audi will pay . 120 crore for its share of the space. Audi is expected to occupy the ground floor of the building to set up its exclusive showroom.  Currently, Audi has one showroom in Andheri, a suburb of Mumbai. It also had another showroom at Worli that was shut sometime ago. According to industry officials, the German carmaker is scouting for a partner to set up showrooms in south and central Mumbai.  The Mumbai-based developer has so far leased out around 30% of the total 4-lakhsq ft office space in this building and has decided to sell the rest on an outright basis after trying to lease it further for more than a year. JM Financial declined to offer comment for the story. Vallabh Sheth, director of Sheth Developers, denied any such transaction, adding the company is looking to lease space in this building and not sell on an outright basis.  A spokesperson for Audi said, "Audi is not investing in any property." Australian bank ANZ, the current tenant in this building, occupies the sixth floor and half of the ground floor. It took on lease around 50,000 sq ft of space for over . 300 a sq ft in 2010. According to property brokers, current rentals in this building are around . 200 per sq ft a month. The building has a basement, ground floor and 8 floors of commercial and IT offices with multi-level car parking for around 450 cars.  manisha.singhal@timesgroup.com  UNLOCKING VALUE