Cognizant is selling the building that has been its headquarters for over 20 years

IT major Cognizant is selling its long-standing Indian headquarters in Chennai. The property, located on Chennai’s IT Corridor in Okkiyam Thoraipakkam, includes a 15-acre land parcel and 400,000 square feet of office space. As per real estate industry estimates, the property could fetch around Rs 750 crore to Rs 800 crore to the company.
The Thoraipakkam office has been Cognizant’s India headquarters for more than 20 years.It is where Cognizant co-founders – Lakshmi Narayanan and Chandrasekaran operated from. It is also the site of a landmark event where the company remotely rang the Nasdaq opening bell, marking a significant milestone in its growth. The campus also represents Cognizant’s first fully owned property in Chennai, a step up from its previous rented space in the CSI building near the US Consulate

Cognizant aims to sell Chennai HQ by Dec

According to market sources, Cognizant plans to wind up the process and vacate the campus by December, 2024. Cognizant has mandated international property advisory JLL to sell the property. The advisory firm, according to sources, has been talking to many prospective buyers including local developers — Baashyaam Group and Casagrand. However, nothing has been finalised yet.

Cognizant new HQ to function from MEPZ campus

Once the old headquarter building is sold and vacated, Cognizant’s new India headquarters may function from the MEPZ campus near Tambaram on GST Road.
The move to sell the existing HQ building is seen as part of the company’s process to consolidate its operations in three of its own buildings at MEPZ, Sholinganallur and Siruseri. It has been giving up leased spaces across Chennai including prominent addresses at Ramanujan IT Park, DLF as well as St Mary’s Road offices in R A Puram.