Indian celebrity Sonam Kapoor buys Mumbai’s iconic music store for $5.7 million
Rhythm House was owned by ex-diamantaire Nirav Modi’s firm
Bhaane Group, owned by celebrity Sonam Kapoor and her husband Anand Ahuja, is buying Rhythm House, an iconic music store in India's financial capital Mumbai for 478.4 million rupees ($5.7 million).
The 3,600-square foot Rhythm House had been shuttered in 2018 after Nirav Modi, the owner of Firestar Diamond International Pvt that ran the music store, defaulted on billions of dollars of bank loans. A resolution professional appointed by the Indian bankruptcy court oversaw the sale of the store confirmed the value of the deal to Bloomberg News in a telephone interview.
"The stakeholder committee has approved the sale of Rhythm House for 478.4 million rupees," said Shantanu T Ray, the official liquidator overseeing the sale of Firestar's assets. The sale also includes an office space in suburban Mumbai.
A spokesperson for Bhaane, which manufactures various clothes under its own label, confirmed the purchase, but declined to share the value of the deal. The company is an arm of Shahi Exports Pvt, owned by Anand's father Harish Ahuja and is one of the largest apparel makers in India which supplies international brands including Uniqlo, Decathlon and H&M.
"We have completed our due diligence and plan to expand our retail presence in the city. As private companies, we are unable to comment on any financial information regarding the bid," a spokesperson for the Bhaane said in an email statement. Bhaane's retail unit operates the chain of Nike and Converse stores in India.
The deal signals the end of an era for a generation of music lovers who grew up listening to their favorite artistes on vinyls, cassettes and compact discs.
Established in the 1940s, Rhythm House had once hosted legendary musicians like classical artist Pandit Ravi Shankar, Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson and a bevy of Bollywood stars. But beginning in the late 90s, a rising wave of music piracy first and later the advent of digital streaming steadily made the landmark store irrelevant for music aficionados.