Combating Debt

Facing the heat from lenders, debt-ridden Jaypee Group got some respite with the sale of its 21.2-million tonne per annum ( MTPA) cement assets to Aditya Birla Group’s company UltraTech Cement for `16,189 crore. “Jaypee Group is determined to reduce its overall debt through its proactive divestment initiative to help the group tide these current turbulent times caused by the economic slowdown in the country,” Manoj Gaur, Chairman and CEO of Jaypee Group, said in a statement. Jaiprakash Group has sold its power and cement units to raise funds for reducing its consolidated debt of about `28,000 crore. In June, the group defaulted on loans and other payments worth `4,460 crore. On a consolidated basis, it failed to repay `2,905.6 crore in principal amount to banks and another `1,558.93 crore in interest payments. A consortium of lenders led by ICICI Bank had decided to invoke the strategic debt restructuring ( SDR) option against the company.