Mumbai: A group of lenders led by the State Bank of India has at last managed to sell Kingfisher Villa in Goa for Rs 73 crore, according to a report in The Economic Times.
Earlier, the banks failed to auction the property on three occasions as no bidders had turned up. Previous reserve prices for the failed auction were Rs 85.29 crore and Rs 81 crore. This time the reserve price was Rs 73 crore to attract more bidders.
The sale of the property is part of banks' attempts towards recovering Rs 9,000 crore loan that included interest money from Vijay Mallya who now faces extradition from the UK.
Mallya had taken loans to start and run Kingfisher Airlines that has long been grounded as the carrier had gone bankrupt. Mallya had earlier in a tweet blamed faulty engines in the aircraft for the crashing of the carrier.
The embattled businessman Vijay Mallya living in a self-imposed exile in the UK once threw lavish parties at this sprawling beach bungalow in Goa where his celebrity friends spent 'good times' with him.
The report said that actor-producer and businessman Sachin Joshi's Viiking Media & Entertainment has purchased the property for Rs 73 crore and has paid Rs 1 lakh extra to fulfill some terms and conditions.
"The prime property is located in Goa's Candolim and had become legendary for the parties that the high-flying Mallya threw at the villa," the repot said.
