Cognizant sells prime Chennai property for Rs 612 crore

CHENNAI: In what appears to be a result of Cognizant Technology Solutions’ ongoing efforts to consolidate its operations within three of its own buildings at MEPZ, Sholinganallur, and Siruseri, the IT major has now sold off its 13.68acre prime property at Okkiyam Thoraipakkam off OMR for Rs 612 crore. With its sights set on redevelopment, Bagamane Constructions, a Bengaluru-based real estate developer, has acquired the property, which also has a built-up space of around four lakh sqft.
The Thoraipakkam complex has been Cognizant’s India headquarters for more than 20 years. It was also the company’s first fully owned campus in Chennai. Prior to this, Cognizant had operated on a rental basis from the CSI building near the US Consulate. The sale was formally registered at the Neelankarai sub-registrar’s office on Wednesday. Multiple sources confirmed that the developer paid a Rs 55.08 crore to the Tamil Nadu govt as part of stamp duty and registration fee.
Cognizant put up the property for sale in August last year. Back then, it had mandated international property advisory firm JLL to carry out the sale. The advisory firm was in discussion with several prospective buyers including local developers such as the Baashyaam Group and Casagrand, sources said. Eventually, the Bagamane group bagged the deal.
Cognizant was working towards closing the sale by Dec 2024, after which its new India headquarters was slated to function from the MEPZ campus near Tambaram on GST Road. Although the process overshot the expected sale deadline by almost three months, it had vacated the campus towards the end of Dec last year in anticipation of the sale. The company has been giving up its leased spaces across Chennai including those in prominent geographies such as the Ramanujan IT Park, DLF as well as its office at St Mary’s Road in R A Puram.
The Bagamane group is likely to opt for redevelopment and construct high-rise mixed development towers in line with the trend on OMR, Chennai’s IT corridor. In Bengaluru, the group has carved a niche through developing several small IT parks across the city and in the peripheral areas.
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