While Lehman will invest Rs 500 crore and hold 75 per cent in the JV, Peninsula Land will subscribe to the remaining equity at an investment of Rs 200 crore, according to sources.
Sudden spurt could be seen as a sign of maturity or slowing in the sector.
Land costs constitute 50 to 60 per cent of a project's overall costs.
Real estate companies such as Unitech, Peninsula Land, HDIL and Future Capital, the financial services arm of Future Group, are in talks with investors including some leading private equity funds for raising investments for their projects, after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, whose third party fund had promised investments in these property companies' projects, according to industry sources.
In May last year, Peninsula forayed into the hospitality sector with a joint venture with textile maker and real estate developer, Arrow Webtex. The JV planned to build hotels in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nasik and Kolhapur in Maharashtra. There were also plans to develop hotels in Ahmedabad, Surat, Jamnagar, Mundra port, Goa and Kerala.
Ashok Piramal Group company Peninsula Land has inked a property deal worth Rs 1,200 crore (Rs 12 billion) with Essar Realty Holdings, the realty arm of the Essar Group, to sell and lease premises at its upcoming IT park named Peninsula Technopark on LBS Marg in Kurla. The deal was signed recently, according to sources.
Mahindra and SCM Real Estate, the investment arm of Standard Chartered, would together invest Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) in multiple projects and hold equal stakes in the JV to be called Watsonia Developers.
Dilipkumar Lakhi, a prominent diamond merchant and Mumbai's highest individual tax payer till a couple of years ago, has beaten some of the city's top developers to emerge the highest bidder for the iconic Cadbury House.
Bigger companies are signing equity JVs with global investors.
Consultants said the fact that Oberoi had no debt on its books and Kalpataru had low debt helped the two in the slow realty market.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.