Curation Team
A government-appointed liquidator has put an entire office floor owned by defunct Jet Airways in commercial tower Godrej BKC in Mumbai’s business district Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) on the block. The liquidator has set a reserve price of Rs 335.24 crore for the property to be auctioned next month under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
In 2020, as part of Jet Airways‘ insolvency proceedings, global alternative investment major Brookfield Asset Management had acquired the company’s two office floors in the building for Rs 490 crore. These offices are currently occupied by marquee tenants including World Bank and PayPal.
The transaction involved around 180,000 sq ft office space spread across the third and fourth floors, along with rights to 138 car parking spaces. Brookfield holds the right of first refusal (ROFR) for this office space too as part of the agreement entered then.
As per the ROFR terms, Brookfield is expected to match the highest offer the asset receives if it intends to acquire the same.
The currently vacant office spread over 83,000 sq ft on the second floor of the commercial tower was sealed by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai owing to unpaid dues. On April 28, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) ordered the civic body to de-seal the property and halt recovery actions.
The e-auction for the property along with 70 exclusive car parking slots in the tower is scheduled for June 2, and as per the auction notice, prospective bidders are expected to submit an earnest money deposit of Rs 32.5 crore. The asset is being sold on an ‘as is where is’ basis under the IBC, and all applicable taxes, dues and transfer charges will be borne by the successful bidder.
ET’s separate email queries to the liquidator and Brookfield remained unanswered until press time.
In the earlier auction held in June 2020, Brookfield emerged as the sole bidder, matching the reserve price of Rs 490 crore. The acquisition price translated to approximately Rs 28,900 per sq ft then, which was about 25% lower than the prevailing market rates in BKC at that time. Real estate experts considered this a fair valuation given the market conditions and the lack of new premium office supply in the area at that time.
The Godrej BKC building, a 19-storey commercial tower, was developed in 2011 through a joint venture between Godrej Properties and Jet Airways. Jet Airways had originally purchased the land from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority in 2008 for Rs 826 crore before collaborating with Godrej Properties for the project’s development. Ends
