Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla has emerged as the top bidder to acquire the iconic Malabar Hill bungalow at Mumbai, which was bought by industrialist MP Jatia in 1971 from Meher Cawasji Vakeel, in a deal worth Rs 425 crore (approximately $63 million).
This would be the second most expensive bungalow deal in the country.
Earlier, Hindustan Unilever sold Gulita, a sea-facing property in Worli, to the chairman of Piramal Group, Ajay Piramal, in a deal worth Rs 452.5 crore in 2012. The same year, Maheshwari House in Napean Sea road was acquired for approximately Rs 400 crore by Sajjan Jindal of JSW Group.
Arun M Jatia and Shyam M Jatia, sons of MP Jatia and current owners of Jatia House, had put up the bungalow for sale about three months ago. International property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) was appointed to assist with the sale of the property.
A JLL spokesperson told VCCircle that the due diligence is expected to be completed over the next 30-45 days.
Birla's bid was higher than other suitors including Piramal Realty, which recently raised Rs 2,700 crore in record private equity funding from Warburg Pincus and Goldman Sachs.
A separate email sent to Aditya Birla Group seeking further details on the development did not elicit any response by the time of filing this article.
The Jatia family moved to India from Myanmar in 1964 after the political coup in the country. The family runs the Pudumjee Industries, which is headed by Arun M Jatia and is the flagship company of MP Jatia Group of companies. The family also has interests in hospitality, real estate, financing and FMCG products.
Jatia House, which has Burma teak wood interiors, numerous gardens and offers a sea view in one of Mumbai's most revered residential localities, is also next door to Mehrangir, the landmark Bhabha House, the home of late Indian nuclear physicist Homi J Bhabha.
Last year, Mehrangir was bought by Pheroza Godrej, wife of Jamshyd Godrej, managing director and chairperson of Godrej & Boyce, for Rs 372 crore.
