Cyrus Poonawalla pips Birlas, buys Lincoln House in Mumbai for a whopping Rs 750 crore!

Week after Kumar Mangalam Birla bought Jatia House in Mumbai for Rs 425 crore, it seems Pune-based industrialist Cyrus Poonawalla felt a little competition there and went on to buy iconic Lincoln House for Rs 750 crore at the weekend sale.

Lincoln House in Breach Candy area of south Mumbai , which used to house the US Consulate, to the billionaire chairman of the Pune-based Serum Institute, makes it the largest ever real estate deal in the country's financial capital.

The 2-acre Grade-III bungalow at Breach Candy has a built-up area of around 50,000 sq ft.

However, the property, which has been on the block since 2011, was sold at a lower price than what the Americans were demanding -- a whopping Rs 850 crore.

Last year, the iconic Mehrangir, the house of the father of the nation's atomic programme, Homi Bhabha, in the Malabar Hill area, was sold to the Godrej family for Rs 372 crore.

The Lincoln House, which was formerly known as the Wankaner House, a palace belonging to the Wankaner Maharaja, Pratapsinhji Jhala Wankaner, was leased to the US in 1957 and was renamed as the Lincoln House and the US made its their Consulate in the city.

The Maharaja sold the palace to the US Consulate to pay off his taxes after the independence.

"All these properties have been bought for personal use. Therefore, their valuation can't be ascertained on market rates. There are many such properties which are likely to be put on the block in future,” said PwC India director Shashank Jain said.

(Image: Indiatimes)