Nirmal to buy Glaxo property

Nirmal Constructions, a leading real estate and construction group, is set to acquire the 20 acre Burrows Wellcome property at Mulund (a Mumbai suburb) for nearly Rs 230 crore (Rs 2.3 billion).

At this valuation, it would be one of the largest property deals in recent times in Mumbai.

The property is currently owned by GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceutical Ltd following the merger of Borrows Wellcome with it a couple of years ago.

Sources said the deal is almost through as Nirmal Construction is the final contender among the three short-listed bidders for the property. The property was put on the block some time back.

Oberoi Constructions and Runwal Builders were also shortlised, but lost in the final round of negotiations, sources said.

However, the GSK spokesperson said the committee, which has been appointed for the property bidding, is currently in the process of evaluating and finalising the bidder. "We are yet to hear from the committee about the deal. So we cannot comment about it at this point of time," he said.

Dharmesh Jain, chairman and managing director, Nirmal Group, was not available for comments as he is abroad at present.

Real estate agents said that, because the bidding for this plot is reportedly a huge amount, it has lead to an artificial hike in property rates in Mulund.

Currently, the rate of residential property here is between Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 per square feet. At the same time, there is a feeling that the real estate rates may not skyrocket as there are significantly big mill plots in south Mumbai that are already on the block.

Meanwhile, in the biggest real estate deal of all times in the country, the DLF Group snapped up the 19-acre Bombay Textile Mills property at Lower Parel for Rs 702 crore (Rs 7.02 billion).

The mill is owned by the National Textile Corporation. The property will be developed by Jwala Real Estate Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of DLF Retail Developers , the retail wing group flagship DLF Universal Ltd.