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MUMBAI: Late industrialist Ratan Tata’s property in the Seychelles is up for sale. The former Tata Group chairman had bequeathed his beachfront villa on Mahe, the archipelago’s largest island, to RNT Associates, his Singapore-registered fund that backed Indian startups, as stated in his will. External valuers appointed by the executors of his will had valued the property at a modest Rs 85 lakh.According to people in the know, Aircel founder C Sivasankaran and his family/employees have shown interest in buying the property for $6.2 million (Rs 55 crore). When TOI contacted him, Sivasankaran said, “I don’t know what you are talking about.” The people said that while discussions have taken place, no formal agreement has been reached.
They pointed out that it was Sivasankaran, a citizen of Seychelles, who helped Ratan Tata acquire the property. The laws of Seychelles stipulate that only citizens can purchase property. Since Ratan Tata was not a citizen of Seychelles, an exception was granted due to his status as a global industrialist and philanthropist whose impact transcends borders.
In 1982, the island nation had issued a commemorative stamp to honor Tata Motors’ contributions in meeting its transportation needs. For a period after 2004, Indian Hotels (Taj) managed the Denis Island estate in the Seychelles. Currently, both Tata Motors and Taj have no business interests in the East African country.
In recent interviews, Sivasankaran, 69, spoke about his relationship with Ratan Tata. For seven years, he regularly visited Tata’s “regular 3-BHK house” in Mumbai’s Bakhtawar building every day at 7:15 am, spending 45 minutes with him – often coaching Tata during the meetings to save time.
Sivasankaran, an admirer of Ratan Tata’s altruistic nature and calm demeanor, had recalled that during a flight from Singapore to the Seychelles, when an engine failed and passengers were warned that the plane might crash, he had panicked and emailed his son his Gmail password; Tata, on the other hand, remained unfazed. “Let the pilots do their job,” he told Sivasankaran.
Their partnership also led Sivasankaran to invest in Tata Group’s telecom venture. If the sale goes ahead, the proceeds will be shared equally between the Ratan Tata Endowment Foundation and the Ratan Tata Endowment Trust, as per the Bombay High Court order dated June 16, 2025 approving the will.
The significant difference between the valuation and the offer from the Sivasankaran family/partners indicates that they are willing to pay a premium. His son Saravana Sivasankaran, 41, founder of Marlo Technologies, is also involved, the people said, adding that the family/partners want the property free from ongoing construction costs or taxes.
How the deal will be structured remains unclear given Sivasankaran’s ongoing bankruptcy proceedings at the Seychelles High Court. “My case is pending in the Supreme Court. If the case is heard, I will get my money back,” had said Sivasankaran, who once owned two islands in the Seychelles and homes in many parts of the world.
“I am not poor. Many people in India think I am poor. No, I am broke,” the serial entrepreneur had said. He built Sterling Computers, the Internet service provider Dishnet DSL, and the Fresh & Honest coffee machine chain, and his net worth was once estimated at more than $4 billion.
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