Mallya’s entire stake in MCF sold by lenders

Proceedsfromsaleof12%holdingtobeusedtorecoverdues

Indian lenders have sold the entire 12 per cent stake held by Vijay Mallya in Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers (MCF) as part of their efforts to recover dues from the head of UB group.

The shares were sold in the stock markets and the proceeds will be used to retire part of bank dues.

The current promoter of MCF — the Adventz group — is steadily increasing its stake in the company. MCF stock closed 10 per cent up at ~68 a share on Thursday.

The complete exit of Mallya from MCF brings an end to a decades long relationship between the UB group and MCF. The company came into UB group in the 1990s and after a stint in the BIFR, the UB group revived the company by late nineties. For the December quarter, the company reported revenue of ~327 crore and a net profit of ~80 lakh.

Lenders said while the proceeds of MCF stake sale is negligible as compared to the high dues of ~9,200 crore notched up by Mallya, they are looking at all UB group assets to recover their dues.

The new owner of MCF is also facing financial issues. The Adventz group, led by Saroj Kumar Poddar, took over Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers in 2012 after winning a takeover battle with rival Deepak Fertilisers.

A year later, another group company, Texmaco Rail and Engineering, acquired its rival Kalindee Rail Nirmaan (Engineers). Poddar’s flagship Zuari Agro Chemicals was the toast of the town with every banker making a beeline to Poddar’s office with M&A offers.

But the party soon ended with the group delaying its loan payments since last financial year and bankers worrying over the future of the group considering that the group flagship announced closure of its NPK-A plant in July citing non-availability of its workers due to Covid-19. Mangalore Chemicals had also announced to the stock exchanges that its outstandings are ~224 crore to banks.