Kingfisher Villa now belongs to King's Beer owner Sachiin Joshi

The actor, producer and entrepreneur bought the property in a private deal last week

Sachiin Joshi, who heads Viiking Ventures, has purchased Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Villa in Goa for Rs 73.01 crore. 

Joshi, who is an actor, producer, and a businessman, said owning a property like this had always been on his mind. “I guess around 2006 or 2007, I had visited the Kingfisher Villa for a party and I felt it was one of the finest properties I had seen. I had then thought that someday if I get an opportunity, I will buy it. I even remember telling a friend that if I were to build or buy a villa, it would be like the Kingfisher Villa. As fate would have it, after almost 12 years, I got an opportunity to buy it and I bought it,” he said.

The property in question was part of the assets pledged by Mallya to lenders. It was put up for auction after he defaulted on payments. There have been three unsuccessful attempts to sell the property via auctions. The reserve price for the latest auction was Rs 73 crore. Joshi has forked out Rs 73.01 crore for the purchase via a private deal with the lenders. 

“I read in the papers that auctions were being carried out (to sell the property and recover some of the lenders’ money) and that these had failed a couple times. When I saw the auction failed for a third time, I sensed an opportunity. So I contacted SBI, went through various rigorous processes to make the deal happen under a private treaty following the law of the land, and finally here I am, the owner of Kingfisher Villa,” he said. 

He said he was not sure what he intended to do with it. When asked about the art and vintage wines at the villa, Joshi remained non-committal. 

Joshi’s Viiking Ventures dabbles in the liquor business under the Viiking Beverages brand. A couple of years ago, the company bought King’s Beer, a brew identified as distinctly Goan till then as it was available only in that state. After the acquisition, Joshi’s rebranded it Goa King’s Beer and the beverage is now available in Maharashtra as well.

The production base continues to be the original brewery in Goa. Viiking Beverages also has brands such as XXX Vodka Mix (a pre-mixed vodka-based drink), and Goa Beer (not to be confused with Goa King’s Beer). Non-alcoholic beverages include an energy drink called XXX Energy Drink. His other main business interest is movies. 

He has acted in Aazaan (2011) and Jackpot (2013) and produced Jazbaa (2015).