The Funds raised by UCP will be used to acquire a majority stake in the SEZs and IT parks and other projects that may come up

The Company will acquire a majority stake in six projects; four SEZs and one IT park in the National Capital Region and one IT-related SEZ in Kolkata

Unitech will develop residential and commercial projects

USP Will have the right to coinvest with Unitech in certain projects for which they may receive approvals in the future

Unitech Limited plans to transfer the management control of six special economic zones (SEZs) and IT parks, for which it has already received government approvals, to its affiliate company, Unitech Corporate Park (UCP), registered in Isle of Man.

UCP will raise 360 million pounds (Rs 3,150 crore) through a public issue of fresh shares on the Alternate Investment Market (AIM), a trading platform of the London Stock Exchange for small companies.

The funds so raised will be used to acquire a majority stake in the SEZs and IT parks and other projects that may come up, said a senior Unitech official who did not want to be named. "SEZs and IT parks have a huge capital requirement and have a long gestation period. Therefore, it is imperative to manage these businesses separately," he said.

Unitech will continue to focus on the residential and commercial property business, which has a huge untapped potential.

The official said the SEZs had been placed under a separate special purpose vehicle (SPV) to better manage costs. Thus, the transfer of a majority stake to UCP would not be difficult.

As per the UCP disclosure to the AIM, the company will acquire a ma jority stake in the six projects. These are four SEZs and one IT park in the National Capital Region and one IT-related SEZ in Kolkata.

UCP will appoint Nectrus Ltd, an affiliate of Unitech, to provide investment advisory services to the company in identifying, structuring and executing potential investment avenues as part of its investment strategy. Unitech will also provide project management services for seed portfolio assets.

The official said Unitech would develop residential and commercial projects even within the SEZs and IT Parks. This would help the company generate cash on the continuous basis.

Unitech and UCP have already signed an agreement on this. As per the agreement, UCP will have the right to co-invest with Unitech in certain projects for which they may receive approvals in the future. UCP's board will have five non-executive directors chaired by Atul Kapur, formerly a managing director at Goldman Sachs International's Principal Strategies Group in Europe. The board will also include Aubrey Adams, group chief executive of Savills plc.

"We will be primarily focusing on the key growth markets of the IT and ITES industries which we believe currently offer some of the most attractive real estate prospects in India," said Atul Kapur.