Anant Raj Demerger: Real Estate and Data Centre Split Aims to Unlock Investor Value

The Quick Take

• Five-decade-old Anant Raj is carving out its fast-growing digital infrastructure arm into a separate listed entity
• The demerger separates traditional real estate business from data centres, potentially re-rating both on distinct sector multiples
• Investors may benefit from the sum-of-parts unlocking as data centre assets command significantly higher valuations than real estate

Anant Raj, a five-decade-old real estate developer, is executing a structural pivot through a demerger that separates its traditional property business from its fast-growing data centre infrastructure arm. This split reflects a broader trend in Indian conglomerates where digital infrastructure assets — benefiting from explosive AI-driven demand — are being valued on technology-sector multiples rather than real estate multiples. The demerger creates two distinct, independently listed entities that institutional investors can value and price more efficiently, reducing the conglomerate discount that typically weighs on mixed-business listed companies in Indian markets.

The primary market implication is a potential valuation uplift for the data centre business, which could command EV/EBITDA multiples in line with Indian listed data centre peers such as Nxtra and CtrlS rather than the lower multiples typical of residential and commercial real estate. Real estate investors may also benefit as the stripped-down pure-play property company becomes more legible for sector-specific allocation. The key risk is execution: demerger timelines in India often extend beyond initial estimates, and the cost of maintaining two separate listed entities can erode value if synergies between the businesses are lost.

Investors should watch the National Company Law Tribunal approval timeline and the record date set for share allocation to existing shareholders. The valuation benchmark will be the implied data centre EV at listing compared to peers. Broader signals to monitor include India's data centre investment pipeline — driven by hyperscaler commitments from AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure — and regulatory clarity on REIT-like structures for data centre assets, which could further re-rate the spun-off entity if such a framework matures.

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