The Sahara Group’s premium Aamby Valley township has been put up for auction and has managed to attract just two bidders. The Supreme Court ordered the auction of the entire township with Rs.37,392 crore as the reserve price. No official information has been provided on the identities of these bidders since the entire process is being conducted by the Supreme Court and its observers. Several experts feel that it would be next to impossible for any single real estate brand in the country to purchase this huge town in Maharashtra which has drawn investments from several celebrities in the past.
The real estate sector is already going through a rough time and arranging bank loans is also tough. There are a few industrialists who can afford to buy the town but they have steered clear of the real estate sector till now. The property has been classified as a chartered and exclusive city with its premium timber chalets and contemporary villas in tandem with an airport, school, golf course and hospital. The Bombay High Court’s official liquidator has issued the notice, inviting bids for the 6,761.6 acre township located near Lonavala in the Pune district along with two land parcels which cumulatively cover 1,700 acres.
In the meantime, Royale Partners Investment Fund, which is based in Mauritius, has already tied up with Sahara for investing $1.67 billion (more than Rs.10,700 crore) in the Aamby Valley venture. Sahara has stated that the valuation of the project is more than Rs.1 lakh crore. Sahara has also stated that the first two auction steps had been initiated and the sale will be withdrawn in case Rs.1,500 crore is furnished prior to the next hearing date at the Supreme Court. The auction is slated to take place between the 10th and 11th of October, 2017 and the top three bidders will be notified through emails on the 17th of October, 2017.
The successful bidder has to provide 50% of the amount by the 17th of November, 2017 and the other installments of 25% each by the 16th of December, 2017 and the 16th of January, 2017. In case the successful bidder does not make the payment, the next highest bidder will get the property with the payment structure spread across 3 months. The properties that are auctioned will go with all consents/licenses/registrations/permissions/grants/approvals/pending applications that are currently in place.
