Akhil Gupta’s family firm bids for Videocon
A family-owned firm of Akhil Gupta, vicechairman of Bharti Enterprises, has made a bid for Videocon Industries, the home appliances company that is currently facing bankruptcy proceedings over default.
Gupta, who worked for Bharti Airtel for 18 years, confirmed that his son Anubhav bid for Videocon through Avanti Investfin Pvt Ltd. But he did not spell out the details.
A banking source said the offer for the company was placed before the committee of creditors (COC) on Wednesday but no decision was taken by the lenders.
A proposal made by Videocon promoter Venugopal Dhoot, under Section 12A of the IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code), 2016, was also discussed during the meeting. “Bankers are expecting more offers to come once the pandemic is over and no final decision was taken,” said a source close to the development.
Gupta, who is credited with the success of Bharti Airtel, has been a close confidant of Sunil Mittal, the billionaire promoter of the company. Gupta, say industry sources, was a pioneer in the telecom sector because he started outsourcing network and IT to Ericsson and IBM. This reduced the capital expenditure (capex) of Bharti Airtel and the company paid them by usage. This became the norm across the world, said the source.
Anubhav is also director, according to Zaubacorp.com, in other family-owned companies, which include Square Root Hospitalities, which is involved in hotels, camping sites and short-stay accommodation. The other company in which he is director is Inversion Management Services. Indian lenders have claimed ~59,000 crore from Videocon Industries. Videocon, once India’s largest home appliances company, also tried its hands in the wireless telephony industry. However, after SC cancelled its licence, it lost ~10,000 crore in the gamble.