Sahara’s Aamby Valley auction process begins at ₹37,392-cr reserve price
A Supreme Court ordered auction process began on Monday for the Aamby Valley resort town of Sahara group at a reserve price of ₹37,392 crore.
Describing it as an “ultra-exclusive chartered city”, the liquidator said the property includes timber chalets, modern villas, golf course, hospital, school and airport, among other amenities.
The official liquidator of the Bombay High Court published an auction notice on Monday inviting prospective bidders for the integrated hill city township spread over 6,761.6 acres near Lonavala, located between Mumbai and Pune.
Sahara group pegs the market valuation of the project at over ₹1 lakh crore.
Mauritius-based investor Royale Partners Investment Fund last week offered to invest $1.67 billion (over ₹10,700 crore) in the Aamby Valley project.
The Supreme Court said last week that the auction process can start on August 14, as scheduled, but if Sahara paid ₹1,500 crore into the Sebi-Sahara refund account by September 7, then it could pass an appropriate order. The group had asked the court to postpone the auction till September 16 to enable Sahara group chief Subrata Roy arrange the money.
The official liquidator said in the auction notice that the prospective bidders need to submit their KYC forms. On qualification, they will have to invite bids along with 15% of the reserve price as earnest money.
The properties on action include an integrated hill city township spread over 6,761.642 acres in the Sahayadri mountain range, 1,409.865 acres of land surrounding the Aamby Valley city and land measuring 321.656 acres within the Satara district.
The liquidator said the properties were being sold under two distinct phases over a period of two days, as an alternate to each other, “given the quantum of the properties to be sold”.
Sahara had moved an application before the Supreme Court earlier, seeking permission for entering into an agreement with Victor Koenig UK Ltd, with the nominee being Royale Partners Investment Fund Ltd, for inviting an investment of $1.67 billion into its Aamby Valley project.
In reply to an emailed query by PTI, RPMG Investment, which owns this fund, had also confirmed the proposed funding.
Sahara lawyers had told the court that hotels in New York have been sold, and soon ₹1,500 crore would be deposited into the Sebi-Sahara refund account by September 7, as had been directed by the court.
Sahara has been engaged in a long-running battle with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).