VijayMallya

Indian Billionaire Wheels And Deals For Car Collection Warehouse

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Wealth

Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya loves his cars but members of the Sausalito community where he has a home may not feel the same way. Mallya, who owns India-based Kingfisher Airlines and Kingfisher beer and the Formula One team Force India has a home in the Bay Area community of Sausalito and wants approval to turn a vacant lot near the waterfront into a 6,600-square-foot warehouse to house and occasionally exhibit (by appointment) his collection of cars and boats. In return he has offered to expand nearby Dunphy Park.

The Marin Independent Journal reports that Mallya's plan got a cool reception when it was shown to the city's Planning Commission. No decision was made and a second public hearing will be held on September 23. At the meeting some residents said that the proposed design was not fit for a waterfront building and could block views. The city-owned lot Mallya wants to use to expand Dunphy Park has been vacant for decades. He would put in grass, benches, trees and other improvements and would also maintain the park area.

Mallya has an 11,000 square foot home in Sausalito in addition to a reported 25 other residences scattered around the world including a castle in Scotland, a condo at Trump Plaza and homes in five Indian cities.

Source

Tags: sausalito, vijay mallya, VijayMallya

Will Vijay Mallya Sell Whyte & Mackay?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits, Wealth

Earlier this week my colleague Ariel Adams mentioned that the Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya spent $2 million on some of Mahatma Gandhi's personal possessions. Mallya may be doing some selling as well. His Bangalore-based United Spirits could put Scotch whiskey distiller Whyte & Mackay up for sale. Mallya's United Spirits bought the company for £595 million (around $838 million) in 2007 at the peak of the market. Word is that he was originally thinking of divesting a 49 percent stake in the company but has found that there are no takers.

The London Times reports that Mallya's empire, including the Kingfisher airline, is feeling a bit of financial strain. They quote an analyst who says that Mallya would be lucky to raise more than £200 million from the sale of Whyte & Mackay both because no one is buying anything right now and because the price of bulk Scotch is expected to fall by 15 to 20 percent in the next few years.

Mallya is known for his extravagant spending and has earned the nickname the "Bangalore Branson." He owns the Force India Formula 1 team and throws parties on his large yacht the Indian Empress. He came in at 962 on the Forbes billionaire list last year with a worth of $1.2 billion. It will be interesting to see how he ranks this year.

Tags: bangalore branson, BangaloreBranson, meet the billionaires, MeetTheBillionaires, vijay mallya, VijayMallya, whiskey, whyte and mackay, WhyteAndMackay

Gandhi's Pocket Watch Goes For Over 2 Million Dollars In Controversial Auction

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Auctions

While bidding may still taking place at Antiquroum's March 4-5 auction, the major lot has closed, the Zenith pocket watch and some accompanying items owned by Gandhi. For weeks now the Indian government was trying to halt the auction by legal means. Fearful that the relics would pass to hand away from India, they claimed that the items belonged to the people of India as a whole. While Indian officials were unable to stop the New York City based auction, thankfully for them the Gandhi watch has remained in Indian hands.

'Lot 364' closed way above the estimate price ($20-30k) at 1.8 million dollars. That price increased to $2,096,000 including the buyer's premium (an amount over the final bidding price charged to the buyer). It was by far the highest price a lot for this current auction had reached. The winning bid came from Vijay Mallya, the wealthy owner of King Fisher Beer (and Airlines) of India (is that like having a Budweiser airlines in the US?). His complete plans with the items and pocket watch are unclear. While the Gandhi relics will go on public display, it is unclear whether they will be given to the Indian government or remain in private hands.

Some content via MSN News and Anitquroum.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: antiquorum, auction, gandhi, pocket, vijay mallya, VijayMallya, watch, zenith