C Sivasankaran. (Image source: LinkedIn/C Sivasankaran)
A beachfront villa on Mahe Island, Seychelles, once the quiet retreat of Ratan Tata, is officially up for sale. The property, willed by the late Tata Group patriarch to his Singapore-registered startup fund RNT Associates, was independently valued at just Rs 85 lakh. But the only buyer in sight is none other than Aircel founder C Sivasankaran, 69, who helped Tata acquire it years ago.
According to sources cited by Times of India, Sivasankaran and his family are reportedly ready to pay $6.2 million, or around Rs 55 crore, for the villa.
The villa holds a unique place in Tata’s life and the friendship between the two industrialists. Seychelles law allows only citizens to own land, but Tata was granted a rare exception due to his global stature. Sivasankaran, a Seychelles citizen, had facilitated the original purchase. Their bond went beyond real estate: for seven years, Sivasankaran visited Tata’s Mumbai flat every morning at 7:15, often catching him mid-workout. A well-known anecdote recalls a flight from Singapore to Seychelles, when a failed engine prompted Sivasankaran to email his son his Gmail password, only for Tata to calmly reply, “Let the pilots do their job.”
If the deal goes through, the Rs 55 crore will be split equally between the Ratan Tata Endowment Foundation and the Ratan Tata Endowment Trust, as per a Bombay High Court order that probated Tata’s will on June 16, 2025. Sivasankaran’s son Saravana, founder of Marlo Technologies, is also involved, and the family expects the villa free of dues or tax liabilities, according to the TOI report.
Once a $4-billion tycoon owning two private islands in Seychelles, Sivasankaran is now facing bankruptcy proceedings there. Yet he remains optimistic that the case will be resolved in his favor. For him, buying Tata’s villa would be a poetic full-circle moment, bringing home a property made possible by his longtime friend.
Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
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