No takers for Mallya's Kingfisher House at SBI e-auction

Mumbai, March 17  There were no takers at the close of bidding for business tycoon Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher House, the headquarters of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) here, at an e-auction on Thursday by the State Bank of India to recover dues of over Rs.6,900 crore.

The e-auction of the prime property, near the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, was initiated along with other movable assets and high-end vehicles owned by KFA, officials said here.

The Kingfisher House, standing on a 2,400 square metre plot and with a built-up area of nearly 1,590 sq. metres, was offered for e-auction at a base price of Rs.150 crore - which many felt was exorbitant - and had been taken over by the SBI in February 2015.

Besides, e-auction has also been initiated for selling nine high-end cars like two Honda City EXi, a Honda Civic, two Toyota Camry, Toyota Innova, Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra and Hyundai Santro Zip.

Other movable assets up for grabs by auction includes office furniture and fittings, air conditioners and other items inside the Kingfisher House.

The e-auction of the property in the name of United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd., and Mallya, both Bengaluru-based, was being carried out jointly by SBICAPS Trustee Company Ltd., a subsidiary of SBI Caps through e-auctioneer, AuctionTiger.

Mallya owes around Rs.9,000 crore to the SBI and a consortium of around 17 Indian banks and the Kingfisher House was acquired in an attempt to recover its dues from Mallya, who is currently abroad.