scorecardresearchSrei resolution: Varde Partners-Arena consortium submits revised bid

Srei resolution: Varde Partners-Arena consortium submits revised bid

Updated: 09 Jan 2023, 08:05 AM IST
TL;DR.

Plans of the resolution applicants will be put up for voting after submission of a viability report by Dun & Bradstreet on the offers vying to acquire assets of debt-ridden Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd (SIFL) and Srei Equipment Finance Ltd (SEFL).

FILE PHOTO: An employee counts Indian rupee currency notes inside a private money exchange office in New Delhi July 5, 2013.  REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

FILE PHOTO: An employee counts Indian rupee currency notes inside a private money exchange office in New Delhi July 5, 2013. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

(PTI) A consortium of alternative investment firm Varde Partners and institutional asset manager Arena has submitted a revised bid for the debt-laden Srei group entities after its previous plan was termed as "non-compliant", sources said on Sunday.

Plans of the resolution applicants will be put up for voting after submission of a viability report by Dun & Bradstreet on the offers vying to acquire assets of debt-ridden Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd (SIFL) and Srei Equipment Finance Ltd (SEFL).

"The consortium has sent a plan and it will be verified only on Monday whether it is compliant or not," a company source told PTI.

"Dun & Bradstreet is supposed to submit its viability report on the resolution plans by January 10. After that the voting process by the committee of creditors (CoC) will be undertaken," another source said.

Varde Partners-Arena had sent a plan after the close of the 'challenge mechanism' window on Tuesday and claimed to be the highest bidder but the offer was rejected by the lenders' committee, terming it as "non-compliant" with norms.

The consortium was allowed time till midnight of Saturday to make a bid compliant with norms for the debt-laden Srei group entities.

The Varde Partners-Arena consortium had also raised concern over the debt resolution process, calling it "unreasonable, unfair, rushed and ad-hoc".

The administrator for Srei Infrastructure Finance and Srei Equipment Finance has shot off a letter to the consortium, dismissing its allegations over the 'challenge mechanism' process adopted for the resolution of the companies.

In the same letter, the consortium was allowed to submit a bid in accordance with challenge documents circulated among the applicants.

As per the challenge bidding mechanism, National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) remained the top bidder with NPV bid of 5,555 crore.

Authum Investment and Infrastructure is another bidder in the insolvency resolution process for the two stressed entities.

First Published: 09 Jan 2023, 08:05 AM IST