Kumar Managalam Birla buys iconic Jatia House for Rs 425 crore

Mumbai, September 8

Top industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla has bought the iconic Jatia House in the plush Malabar Hill area here for Rs 425 crore.

The deal is considered to be highest ever as the property has been bought for personal-use, industry experts said.

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), an international consultancy firm which carried out the deal, has confirmed the sale. The firm also confirmed the property will be used for the industrialist's personal purpose.

“Jatia House, which has a built-up area of about 25,000 sq ft has been sold at Rs 425 crore to Birla,” a JLL official said.

This is the largest deal after the iconic Maheshwari House on Mumbai's Napean Sea Road which was bought by industrialist Sajjan Jindal of JSW in 2011.

According to PWC Executive Director Shashank Jain, when properties are bought for personal-use, the commercial valuation is generally not taken into consideration.

“The valuation of the property cannot be ascertained as it has been bought for personal use. Also such transactions do not wait for the right market conditions and are sold as per the requirement of the owner,” he said.

The Jatia House was owned by Y Jatia and was occupied by brothers Arun and Shyam Jatia, who run the Pudumjee Industries. The property was bought in 70s from MC Vakeel.

A spokesperson from the Aditya Birla Group refused to comment on the deal.

Last year, Smita Crishna, sister of industrialist Jamshyed Godrej, bought Meherangir, an iconic bungalow of Homi J Bhabha, father of India's atomic energy programme, for Rs 372 crore. This property was also bought for personal use, experts said.

The billionaire Kumar Birla family, with a networth of $8.5 billion, currently lives at the Mangalyan on the tony Altamount Road in the southern tip of the city, where the country's richest man Mukesh Ambani also lives in the 27-storey Antilia.

The Ambanis made history by spending a reported $1 billion to build the tower in 2011, making its world's priciest house till date.

The Jatia House is occupied by brothers Arun and Shyam Jatia, who run the Pudumjee Industries that is primarily into paper products. The property was bought in the 1970s from MC Vakeel by the MP Jatia Group.

Last year, Smita Crishna, sister of industrialist Jamshyed Godrej, bought the Meherangir, an iconic bungalow of Homi J Bhabha, the father of the nation's atomic energy programme, for Rs 372 crore. This property was also bought for personal use.

However, the Meherangir deal ran into rough weather with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre unions opposing the deal and demanding heritage status to the property and converting it into a museum. The deal remains suspended as yet. — PTI