Continental Automotive buys 8.5 lakh sq. ft of office space in Bangalore for Rs 850 crore

German transnational company Continental Automotive has bought 8.5 lakh sq. ft of office space in Bangalore for around Rs 850 crore, the largest buyout deal of ready commercial assets in Garden City in 2022.

The office property in Electronic City, owned by Sattva Group, is spread over 5.5 acres and can seat around 6,000 employees.

“Earlier, Continental occupied the same building on lease and now it has bought it from the builder. The building was leased for 15 years in 2022 with an option to buy,” said one of the two people aware of the deal.

Continental has made foreign direct investments consistently over the past 10 years in India, particularly Karnataka.

Additionally, in July, the German firm had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Karnataka for planned foreign direct investments to the tune of around Rs 1,000 crore in the state.

The proposed investment is toward furthering the growth of its in-house research & development organization, Technical Center India (TCI), which is expected to employ about 6,000 people.

“This will boost innovation around automotive software development, connected technologies, and autonomous mobility for the global automotive industry. It will also provide a fillip to the growing automotive R&D ecosystem in Bengaluru,” the company had said in a statement earlier this year.

Sattva Group could not be reached for comments. Colliers, which was the advisor to the deal, declined to comment.

Continental recently invested in a Rs 200-crore greenfield plant in Pune.

Continental has been present in India for close to 50 years through technology partnerships (Continental Tires since 1974) and joint ventures for its various businesses.

The tier 1 automotive supplier, tire manufacturer, and industrial partners operate across India – with about 8000 employees across 13 locations, including seven plants that cater to the Indian market and a Technical Center that supports Continental’s global R&D activities.

In 2021, Continental generated sales of EUR 33.8 billion and currently employs more than 190,000 people in 58 countries and markets.

The technology segment saw its share rise, clearly outlining its continued dominance as the most prominent occupier segment in India’s office sector.

Gross leasing Volume (GLV) for Q2 April-June 2022 stood at 14.3 million sq. ft, up by 36% q-o-q with Bengaluru accounting for 34% of the quarterly GLV, as per the industry estimate.

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