DB backs out of Bayer deal following Balwa arrest

DB Realty, of which Shahid Balwa is managing director and joint promoter, has backed out from buying a 108-acre plot of land owned by Bayer Crop Science at Thane. The deal was estimated at over Rs 1,500 crore.

The reason, said DB Realty officials, was issues over land title. Chairman Vinod Goenka, who's been doubling as managing director since Balwa's arrest on Tuesday in the 2G 'scam' case, confirmed the development. He said, "We had worked for almost three months on verifying the land records and found there were a few plots where the title was not clear. In fact, Bayer was not even aware of it. We had asked them to issue a public notice to get the title cleared, but for reasons best known to them, they seemed reluctant. So we backed out.''

Realising this could be a problem, Bayer on Thursday issued a public notice through solicitors Wadia Gandhy and Company to verify the land title for 104 acres.

The DB-Bayer deal is learnt to have fallen through a few weeks before the furore erupted over 2G spectrum allocation, which led to the CBI taking Balwa into custody.

Land title issues apart, real estate sources said a financial issue had arisen between the two parties. As per Bayer's bid condition, the developer did not have to pay any money upfront.

"When DB emerged as the highest bidder in October 2010, the real estate market was different.