<div>Private equity firm Sun-Apollo will invest up to $50 million in projects developed by Indian real estate company Sobha Developers, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The investment will be on a project basis, and Sun-Apollo will invest 20-25 per cent of its commitment in the first project, one of the sources said. Executives at Sobha and Sun-Apollo could not immediately be reached for comment. Sobha, based in Bangalore, has built more than 51 million square feet of homes and offices since its inception in 1995.<br /><br />Sun-Apollo, a joint venture between India's Sun Group, controlled by the Khemka family, and US-based AREA Property Partners, formerly called Apollo Real Estate Advisors, raised more than $600 million in 2006 to invest in real estate projects in India. In December 2011, it invested about Rs 450 million in a subsidiary of Mumbai-based Godrej Properties.<br /><br />Private equity investments in real estate fell 44 per cent in the September quarter to $394 million from $726 million a year earlier, according to Venture Intelligence, an industry data tracker.<br /><br />(Reuters) <br /> </div>
