Birla Estates formally acquires Hindalco’s Kalwa factory plot

MUMBAI: A Birla Estates’ subsidiary has bought Hindalco Industries’ Kalwa’s factory, spread over 24.5 acres, for ₹537.42 crore. Both the companies involved in the transaction are part of the larger Aditya Birla Group. In July 2023, Hindalco Industries had announced that its board of directors had given the go-ahead for sale of the land parcel to Birla Estates’ arm, Ekamaya Properties.

The deal was formalised and completed on September 4 for Ekamaya Properties to acquire nearly 24.5 acres or 99,021.47 sq m, show documents accessed through Square Yards, a proptech portal. A sum of ₹37.61 crore was paid towards stamp duty along with a registration fee of ₹30,000.

Hindalco Industries was looking to sell this land parcel since 2013-14. Back then, the company had estimated it would fetch a value of around ₹1,500 crore through auction. Prior to the commencement of the auction process, a couple of developers had shown interest, but the sale never happened.

The Kumar Mangalam Birla-led multinational group was operating an aluminum foil factory at Kalwa, which closed down in 2010. It manufactured printed foils and multiple laminated products. The annual production capacity, prior to ceasing the operations, was up to 6,000 tonne and catered to the requirements of sectors like processed food, pharma, health care and confectionery.

Kalwa is an extension of Thane city and has become one of the most sought-after real estate markets due to its strategic location, connecting different areas of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. In 2019, Raymond forayed into real estate business by launching a project on its industrial space in Thane’s Pokhran Road. The debut project is taking shape and will house a residential complex spread over 14 acre.

“We are witnessing leading developers strategically positioning themselves across key markets, acquiring significant land parcels. This aligns with the growing demand for office spaces as well as residential apartments in gated communities, as homebuyer preferences have shifted towards projects that offer a range of amenities and open spaces. These high-value deals in the market clearly signal profitable opportunities for developers in both residential and commercial sectors,” said Anand Moorthy, co-founder and CBO, Capital Market & Services, Square Yards.

He added that global firms and tech-giants are increasingly expanding their presence in India. “The digitization of land records and enhanced transparency have played a key role in boosting stakeholder confidence in the Indian real estate sector.”

An email sent to Birla Estates enquiring about their development plans remained unanswered.

Birla Estates has interests in the markets of Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune, Bengaluru and National Capital Region. As per Square Yards data insights, Birla Estates ranked third in the Mumbai MMR amongst developers with the highest registered home sales values during the April-June quarter of 2024, recording transactions worth ₹1,126 crore.