Unitech sells 10 acres in Bangalore, Mysore to repay debt

Realty major Unitech has sold almost 10 acres of land in Bangalore and Mysore for about Rs100-130 crore as part of its strategy to repay debt.

Unitech currently has debt of about Rs6,200 crore, including Rs150-200 crore owed to the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

There have been reports that LIC had declared Unitech a "wilful defaulter" and that the insurance firm has taken "notional possession" of a slice of Unitech's 350-acre land parcel in Noida (See: LIC to go all out to recover 'sub-standard' Unitech loan).

According to news agency PTI citing sources, Unitech has sold two or three land parcels in Bangalore and Mysore to local developers.

"These land parcels were non-core assets for the company. Proceeds would be utilised to repay debt," a source told PTI, adding that the company has to repay about Rs80 crore to LIC.

When contacted, a Unitech spokesperson declined to comment.

Unitech has an operational, 200-room hotel in Gurgaon and is constructing a 250-room hotel in Noida.

In 2009, Unitech sold its prime office complex in south Delhi for over Rs500 crore and a budget hotel in Gurgaon for about Rs200 crore.

Unitech Corporate Parks, a Unitech group firm listed in London, has been negotiating with private equity firm Blackstone and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC over the past few months to sell its IT special economic zone (SEZ) in Gurgaon for about Rs2,700 crore.

Unitech is developing an IT SEZ 'IST Infospace Gurgaon' with a leasable area of 3.6 million sq ft. UCP holds 60 per cent in the project, while Unitech has the remaining stake.