Darwin Platform's Ajay Harinath Singh joins race to buy Reliance Capital

Darwin Platform Group of Companies Chairman Ajay Harinath Singh has entered the race to acquire debt-ridden Reliance Capital Ltd, promoted by the Anil Ambani Group.
 
The non-banking financial company is undergoing insolvency proceedings.
 
Singh submitted Expression of Interest (EoI) for Reliance Capital in his personal capacity on March 25, the Darwin Platform Group said in a release.
 
"Given the potential of the non-banking finance sector, Ajay Harinath Singh finds huge value in Reliance Capital as a diversified financial company as an NBFC, operating in general insurance, life insurance, securities, asset reconstruction, among other segments," it added.
 
Darwin Platform Group, with a net worth of $8.4 billion, has presence across diverse sectors, including retail, infrastructure, realty, automobile, among others. It had also participated in the bidding process for acquiring Jet Airways, Air India, Lavasa Smart City, among others.
 
"However, for the first time, the Darwin chief has come forward to invest in Reliance Capital in his personal capacity as he has more than 90 per cent of the Group's share or asset net worth," the release said.

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Commenting on his bid for Reliance Capital, Singh said, "Finance, especially non-banking finance sector, is growing rapidly in the country. Unfortunately, a diversified NBFC Reliance Capital is now in trouble but the company had made its strong presence felt across the country. With the infusion of adequate money, it can be revived with its initial vibrancy." 
 
Adani Finserve, ICICI Lombard, Tata AIG, HDFC Ergo, and Nippon Life Insurance are among the 54 firms that have expressed interest to acquire Reliance Capital.
 
Earlier, the last date for submission of bids for the debt-ridden firm was extended to March 25 from March 11 by the administrator appointed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
 
Other bidders include Yes Bank, Bandhan Financial Holdings, Cholamandam Investment, OakTree Capital, Blackstone, Brookfield, TPG, KKR, Piramal Finance and Poonawala Finance.
 
The RBI had on November 29 last year superseded the board of Reliance Capital in view of payment defaults and serious governance issues. Following the takeover of the board, the central bank appointed Nageswara Rao Y as the administrator in relation to the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of the company.
 
RBI subsequently filed an application for initiation of CIRP against the company at the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

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