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After three failed auctions, liquor baron Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Villa has been soon to actor-cum-businessman Sachiin Joshi. Lenders to Mallya decided to dispose off the Goa property for a little over Rs 73 crore, according to multiple media reports.
The lenders seized the posh Goa villa after Mallya failed to repay loans taken for the erstwhile Kingfisher Airlines. According to a report, SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya confirmed the sale but refused to name the buyer.
Though both the parties — the 17-bank consortium led by SBI and the buyer actor-producer Sachiin Joshi, who owns Viiking Media, refused to confirm the deal, sources said the villa in north Goa has finally been sold to Joshi for Rs 73.01 crore, far less than the reserve price the bankers set at upwards of Rs 90 crore for auctions, which failed thrice.
"Secured creditors have the right to go for a private treaty if the auction route fails. With this, it seems the jinx over the sale of KFA properties is over. The villa was sold through a bilateral agreement earlier this week for Rs 73.01 crore to actor-producer Sachiin Joshi," a source who is aware of the development told PTI.
The villa, spread over 12,350 sq ft or three acres at Candolim (on the way to Fort Aguada), was legally owned by United Breweries Holdings, the parent of the airline. The lenders had taken physical possession of the villa in May 2016.
The lenders' bid to auction trademarks, including the brand value of the Kingfisher logo, in August 2016, too, was unsuccessful. The reserve price for the brands was set at Rs 330 crore, which is not even a tenth of the Rs 4,000 crore valuation it commanded when offered as collateral.
Asked if a similar route will be followed to dispose of Kingfisher House in the city, which was once the headquarters of the airline, the source said with the sale of the villa, at least a process has been initiated.
The source also said movable assets lying in the villa will be sold through a recovery officer as per the DRT orders.
For the third auction on March 6, the reserve price for the villa was set at Rs 73 crore, which was around 10 percent lower than the second auction held last December when the price of the sea-facing property was set at Rs 81 crore. It was put under the hammer for the first time last October with a reserve price of Rs 85.29 crore.
The villa was used by Mallya to host lavish parties. SBI Caps Trustee was entrusted with auctioning the properties on behalf of the lenders.
Mallya was declared a wilful defaulter and is wanted by authorities for default in payment for loans related to Kingfisher Airlines that was grounded in 2012. He owes over Rs 9,000 crore to lenders like SBI, PNB, IDBI Bank, BoB, Allahabad Bank, Federal Bank and Axis Bank, among others. He left the country on March 3 last year and is currently said to be in Britain and his extradition talks are on.
The SBI-led consortium had also reduced the reserve price of the Kingfisher House by 10 percent to Rs 103.50 crore from Rs 115 crore during the third failed auction last December. In the first auction in March 2016, the reserve price was set at Rs 150 crore, but was lowered to Rs 135 crore in the second held last August.
Joshi made his Bollywood debut with Aazan in 2011. The movie evoked mixed response at the Box Office, even though it got overwhelming response at the Cannes Film Festival. Joshi was also part of Mumbai Mirror and Jackpot.
Joshi's website identifies him as the vice chairman of the JMJ Group of Companies. Some other ventures he's part of include include Goa Nicofix Chewing Gum, Viking Trance, Life Packaged Drinking Water among others. In the past, he has acquired the Goan beer brand King's, acqquired a minority stake in PB Lifestyle and is the exclusive license holder for Playboy in India.
Sachiin Joshi is married to actor Urvashi Sharma, who later changed her name to Raina Joshi.
With inputs from Firstpost & PTI.
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