Meet Radhakishan Damani, who struck India's largest-ever realty deal at Rs 1,238 cr

In what is hailed as the biggest home purchase deal in India, DMart founder Radhakishan Damani, his family and friends have purchased 28 apartments in Mumbai for a whopping ₹1,238 crore.

According to a report on Zapkey website, the apartments bought by Damani are located in Oberoi 360 West, Worli. The properties are spread over 1,82,084 square feet. It includes 101 car parks.

The deal was sealed on February 3, two days after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2023-24.

Also read: DMart Q1 profit jumps multifold to ₹642.89 cr, sales almost double

“The buyers have purchased the apartments in Tower B of Three Sixty West located on Annie Besant Road in Worli, Mumbai. The seller is builder Sudhakar Shetty, who had partnered with real estate developer Vikas Oberoi to redevelop the project.

“Most of these apartments have a carpet area of 5,000 sq ft, and cost Rs 40-50 crore on average,” a report on Moneycontrol said.

Oberoi 360 West has two towers and the apartments are 4 BHK and 5 BHK. It also houses Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

There were other reports that claimed that Damani’s deal was worth ₹1,500 crore for 24 apartments.

A report in Hindustan Times, citing industry sources, said the deal by Damani appears to be to bail out Sudhakar Shetty, whose company Sky Lark Buildcon Pvt Ltd is the partner in this project. The company had taken a loan of ₹1000 crore from DHFL (now Piramal Finance) in 2019, and units were provided as collateral. Real estate experts said lender pressure for repayments could have been why the flats were sold at discounted rates.

Who is Radhakishan Damani?

Damani, 68, is a veteran Mumbai investor and became India’s “retail king” after the March 2017 IPO of his supermarket chain Avenue Supermart, according to his profile on Forbes website.

“Damani was a mentor to billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. Low-profile Damani rarely makes appearances at public events and avoids speaking to the press. Damani got into retailing in 2002 with one store in suburban Mumbai.

“Damani also holds stakes in a range of companies, from tobacco firm VST Industries to cement producer India Cements. His property portfolio includes the 156-room Radisson Blu Resort in Alibaug, a popular beachfront getaway close to Mumbai,” it said.

DMart was started by Damani and his family. Its first store was launched in Powai, Maharashtra in 2002, and today DMart has a presence in 302 locations across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, NCR, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Rajasthan.

As of December 10, 2022, Damani’s net worth was $27.6 billion, Forbes said. In 2020, he was ranked 78 in the world’s richest list and was the third wealthiest person in India in 2022.

Born in Mumbai, Damani, in 1995, became the biggest individual shareholder in HDFC Bank. Five years later, he exited the stock market to set up a retail business. In 2002, he founded Avenue Supermarts.

As per Forbes’ real-time rich list, Damani with a net worth of $15.5 billion, is ranked 112th in the world, as of today (February 6).