RCap resolution proposals can be submitted till June 30

NEW DELHI: Lenders have agreed to extend the last date to submit bids for the resolution of debt-ridden Reliance Capital Ltd by a month till June 30 as bidders have given cold response so far, sources said.

Committee of Creditors (CoC) had earlier fixed May 26 as the last date for submission of resolution plans.

After a review meeting of lenders on Wednesday, it was decided to extend the date till June 30 in view of the poor response.

So far only eight out of 54 Prospective Resolution Applicants (PRAs) have engaged with lenders, sources said.

Out of 54 PRAs who had submitted expressions of interest for RCL assets, 45 have not engaged with the CoC at all, sources said, adding, there has been no communication from 45 PRAs, as they have become completely inactive.

Of the eight active PRAs, five have sought clarifications on certain issues from the administrator of RCL, while only three, including Piramal, Yes Bank and HDFC Ergo, have held management meetings on the resolution plan submission.

According to the lenders, sources said, the cold response from majority of the PRAs has been due to the adverse economic conditions and challenging global environment.

RCL had offered two options to all the bidders. Under the first option, companies could bid for Reliance Capital, including its eight subsidiaries or clusters. The second option gave the company freedom to bid for its subsidiaries, individually or in a combination.

RCL has eight businesses that are on the block. These include general insurance, life insurance, health insurance, securities business and asset reconstruction, among others.

As all the subsidiaries of Reliance Capital are running sound businesses, the administrator and lenders of the company cannot invite IBCcompliant resolution plans for those firms.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had on November 29 last year superseded the board of Reliance Capital Ltd (RCL) in view of payment defaults and serious governance issues.

The RBI appointed Nageswara Rao Y as the administrator in relation to the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of the company.

This is the third large NonBanking Financial Company (NBFC) against which the central bank has initiated bankruptcy proceedings under IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) recently. The other two were Srei Group NBFC and Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL).

RBI subsequently filed an application for initiation of CIRP against the company at the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). In February this year, the RBI-appointed administrator had invited expressions of interest for sale of Reliance Capital.

So far only eight out of 54 Prospective Resolution

Applicants (PRAs) have engaged with lenders, sources said