ESSAR GROUP WOULD PAY OFF `1.2L-CR DEBT

New Delhi, Oct. 28: Ruia-family owned Essar Group would deleverage about `1.25 lakh crore of debt — the largest by any corporate if its offer to repay lenders of Essar Steel in full is accepted, company sources said.

Last week, the Committee of Essar Steel Creditors picked ArcelorMittal’s `42,000 crore takeover offer over the company promoter’s `54,389 crore proposal to pay off all of the dues.

Essar plans to legally challenge the decision as it believes its offer would ensure 100 per cent recovery for lenders while accepting ArcelorMittal’s offer would entail a haircut, sources said.

Sources said Essar Group had so far used $650 million (about `4,200 crore) from the sale of Aegis US operations, `72,000 crore from sale of Essar Oil to Russia’s Rosneft and partners, `2,000 crore from sale of Aegis and `2,400 crore from sale of Equinox to deleverage group debt. If the offer for Essar Steel is accepted, the deleveraging would total to `1.25 lakh crore, they said. This is over 85 per cent of total group liabilities.

Essar invested `1.2 lakh crore — the highest by any corporate in recent times — between 2010 and 2015 in building world-class assets in energy, infrastructure, metals and mining, and services sector.

Essar, they said, is a leaner, smarter and wiser group with a lighter balance sheet. — PTI