Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (TSX:BAM.A)and Godrej Fund Management, are in a close race to acquire the headquarters of IL&FS Investment Managers Limited (BSE:511208), an iconic property in Mumbai's financial nerve-centre Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), two people with direct knowledge of the development told ET. IL&FS has received two final bids of around INR 10000 million from these institutional investors and the government-appointed board is expected to select and approve the buyer by end-December 2021. “The committee will now proceed with the discussions and negotiations with both final bidders separately.

The outcome of these discussions will be placed before the board that will select the buyer by the end of this year," said one of the persons cited above. The asset is being monetised through a price-discovery mechanism and there was no reserve price set for the property spread over 10 floors. However, the IL&FS board had estimated the property might fetch around INR 12000 million.

The building is mortgaged with mortgage lender HDFC for loans outstanding worth INR 4000 million and the sale proceeds will also be used to pay off those debts. ET's separate queries to IL&FS and Godrej Fund Management remained unanswered, while Brookfield declined to comment. Apart from Brookfield Asset Management and Godrej Fund Management that placed final bids for the property, global institutional investors including the Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX), GIC Pte.

Ltd., Ivanhoé Cambridge, Inc. and Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd. and RMZ Corp. Holdings Private Limited had also shown initial interest in buying the asset.