RMZ Corp

RMZ is a privately owned global alternative asset owner, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. The company has developed projects in multiple cities in India, including Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi NCR, Pune, and Mumbai The company has a portfolio of real assets spanning a total of 70 million square feet.

History

RMZ was founded in 2002 by Arjun Menda and his sons, Raj and Manoj Menda. Arjun Menda, an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, had prior experience with companies like Mahindra & Mahindra and Gabriel India. He ventured into the real estate sector in 1980. Raj and Manoj Menda were associated with the K Raheja Group, managing operations in the southern region during the late 1990s. RMZ executed its first project in Bangalore in 2002.

In 2012, RMZ expanded its presence in the residential real estate sector and introduced projects such as Latitude, Saawan, and Galleria. In February 2012, it received a $100 million investment from private equity firm Baring Private Equity Partners (BPEP). Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) invested $300 million in RMZ in 2013, acquiring a stake of 21%. In December 2015, the company acquired 0.8 million sq ft in Gurgaon from the real estate company BPTP for approximately $150 million.

In 2016, the company ventured into the co-working space business with the launch of CoWrks, which operates in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Delhi, and other locations.

In 2018, RMZ acquired Essar Group's Equinox Business Park, a 1.25 million sq. ft office space in Mumbai's Bandra-Kurla Complex for around ₹2,400 crore. In the same year, the company repurchased shares from Qatar Investment Authority in a deal worth nearly $1 billion. In 2019, RMZ and DB Realty jointly acquired the Kamal Amrohi's film studio Kamalistan, located in Mumbai.

In January 2020, RMZ formed a US$1 billion joint venture with a Japanese real estate company Mitsui Fudosan to develop commercial projects throughout India.
In August 2020, the company sold 18 percent of its commercial real estate and co-working business to Brookfield for $2 billion, making it India's largest realty deal. The transaction included 12.5 million sq ft of assets.

In April 2021, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board invested around $210 million in a joint venture with RMZ to develop and hold commercial office space in Chennai and Hyderabad. Later in March 2022, their second joint venture with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) was announced, in which CPPIB invested $355 million (around 2,650 crore) for the development of commercial projects in India. RMZ serves over 250 enterprise customers, including Boeing, Google, Deloitte, SAP, Shell, Honeywell and KPMG.

In November 2024, RMZ expanded its operation including residential (RMZ Living), hospitality (RMZ Hospitality), mixed-use developments (RMZ Mixed-Use), industrial and logistics (RMZ NXT), office spaces (RMZ Office), and infrastructure (RMZ Infrastructure).

Waste Management

RMZ is partnered with the social enterprise Saahas Zero Waste to manage its waste. The company composts approximately 60% of its total waste, which comprises wet waste and transforms the remaining dry waste into paper, bags, and other products through recycling. Their tech park, RMZ Ecoworld and RMZ Infinity have reduced mixed waste from 50% to around 15%, as of June 2017.

In 2020, RMZ joined Well Living Lab Alliance, a global consortium of organizations. In December 2022, it became a signatory member of the First Movers Coalition (FMC), an initiative by the World Economic Forum and the US government, promoting zero-carbon technologies and sustainability in carbon-intensive industries through low-carbon technology commitments.

CSR

RMZ Foundation is a CSR arm of the company, founded in 2015, led by Anu Menda as the managing trustee. The foundation operates with a focus on art, resilient communities, and urban innovation, aiming to promote the well-being of individuals on a global scale. The organization promotes art and has installed numerous artworks at RMZ Ecoworld, showcasing a permanent collection of sculptures by contemporary artists such as Subodh Gupta, Ravinder G Reddy, Dhruva Mistry, Paresh Maity, Arunkumar H G, and Jayasri Burman. It provides a platform for interactive workshops, exhibitions, and collaborations, supporting both established and emerging artists in showcasing their work to a targeted audience.

In 2019, RMZ Foundation established the Sustainable Health Initiative, a business accelerator supporting healthcare startups to address health and social disparities, providing selected companies with $70,000 in seed capital and mentorship.

Awards and recognition

* Hurun Real Estate Leadership Summit and Excellence Award for the years 2017 & 2018
* RMZ Ecoworld won the 2020 ULI Asia Pacific Awards for Excellence by Urban Land Institute
* CSR subsidiary RMZ Foundation conferred with Mahatma Award for Social Good 2021
* ''The Economic Timess ET Business Excellence Award conferred the Lifetime Achievement award to Manoj Menda, chairman of RMZ contribution to the real estate sector.

References

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Real estate companies established in 2002
Indian companies established in 2002
Real estate companies of India