Realty lender Altico in talks with Apollo, others to raise funds

:Real estate-focused lender Altico Capital India Ltd, which defaulted on interest payments, is in talks with private equity funds, including Apollo Global Management and Cerberus Capital, for a stake sale, according to two people aware of the development.

The non-bank lender has approached several funds to invest in the company, said one of the two people cited above. “While a portion of the investment will be used to pay back lenders, the rest of the fund is likely to be deployed for project completion,” the person said on condition of anonymity.

On 20 September, HT Mint reported that Altico has told its lenders that as part of a resolution plan, it is in talks to sell some assets and infuse fresh funds from new shareholders.

For this, Altico said it is working alongside turnaround advisory firm Alvarez and Marsal and legal advisory firm Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. It also sought a moratorium on further repayments from its lenders.

Apollo Global and Cerberus are among the few private equity firms which Altico is in a serious conversation with, the second person said, adding the investors have proposed a 30-40% haircut on the debt owed to the lenders.

HT Mint could not ascertain the quantum of the stake or capital that Altico is looking to raise from these investors. Altico is one of the many shadow banks affected by the souring of market sentiment, following defaults by Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd. HTC