ABG Group said be in talks to sell prime Worli land

Rishi Agarwal-led ABG group is in talks with real estate developers to sell its prime two-acre land parcel at Worli in Mumbai, said persons familiar with the development. The group may also consider entering into a joint development agreement with property developers.

ABG was earlier planning to develop a commercial building on this vacant plot and occupy nearly half the building for its head office, while the rest was proposed to be leased out. However, it has scrapped that plan and is now scouting for prospective buyers.

The senior management of ABG group has, however, denied any such move. For a residential project, the land parcel holds development potential of up to 170,000 sq ft.

At present, residential properties in this locality are priced anywhere between Rs 40,000 and Rs 45,000 per sq ft. The land parcel is situated opposite luxury hotel Four Seasons on Dr Annie Besant Road in Worli.

The land parcel is owned by ABG Resources, an ABG Shipyard group company, and is mortgaged to ICICI BankBSE -1.31 % for a loan sanction of Rs 300 crore. The company, however, has raised only half of this amount, which is the due amount so far.

The funds raised through upfront payment of joint development or outright sale of the land parcel is expected to be used to repay some of this debt. Shares of ABG Shhipyard closed at Rs 395 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Thursday, up 0.6 per cent over Wednesday's close.

Source (Sabarinath M & Kailash Babar, The Economic Times, 8 Feb 2013) : "ABG Group said be in talks to sell prime Worli land."