Advertisement

Clearwater tech investor Satish Sanan puts famous Ocala horse farm Padua Stables up for auction

 
Published April 16, 2012

Interested in a little ol' horse farm? Ocala's Padua Stables is up for auction by a former Clearwater tech entrepreneur.

satishsananimrglobalpaduastablespstimesphoto.jpgWake up and good morning. Satish Sanan, the tech entrepreneur turned face horse breeder, made a fortune building then selling the IMR Global computer outsourcing business in Clearwater in the 1990s and early 2000s. Now he is putting his famous Ocala horse farm -- Padua Stables -- up for auction on May 31. The property has been on the traditional real estate market for three years.

According to the Ocala Star Banner, Sanan (left, who lives in Clearwater) poured millions into the 760-acre facility in the 1990s but decided in 2007 that the Florida market could not sustain the commercial side of the racehorse breeding market and moved his operation to Kentucky. Satish and Anne Sanan purchased in 1998 what was then called Silverleaf Farm in Ocala for $7.5 million and expanded its facilities. In 2007, just as the recession arrived, the property was listed at $35 million but the price was later reduced to $24.9 million.

paduastablesmainhouseocala.jpegThe auction, meant to reach more targeted buyers and speed the property's sale, will be handled by J.P. King Auction Co. in Gadsden, Ala. Watch the auctioneer's video pitch on Padua here.

How substantial is Padua Stables? Consider that the 3-story, 7,756-square-foot main home (right) with eight bedrooms and five and a half baths is one of 15 homes on the property. There are also 11 barns with 202 stalls, a 22-room dormitory and three greenhouses. Read more from the Star Banner here.

IMR Global, which withered locally after it was sold and its founder left the company, is not Sanan's only business claim to fame. In 2003, he invested with other in an Atlanta company called STI Knowledge that did similar things to IMR Global. The company changed its named to Zavata Inc. and was sold to an Indian company in 2007 for $170 million. Read more here.

-- Robert Trigaux, Business Columnist, Tampa Bay Times