Marico, RP differ over FRL insolvency

2 min read . Updated: 02 Mar 2023, 01:42 AM IST Priyanka Gawande

Earlier, 13 firms, including Reliance Retail, Capri Global Holdings and United Biotech had evinced interest in buying Future Retail. Mint

Rishabh Jaisani, the counsel representing the resolution professional, said a reply was filed in response to Marico’s plea

Mumbai: Consumer products company Marico on Wednesday moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking its intervention in admitting its claims as part of Future Retail’s corporate insolvency resolution process.

Rishabh Jaisani, the counsel representing the resolution professional (RP), said a reply was filed in response to Marico’s plea. “We already admitted 80-90% of Marico’s claims, and the remaining claims are under examination."

Jaisani said Marico claimed ₹22.08 crore, of which ₹18.11 crore have been admitted but for the remaining amount of ₹3.97 crore, which it claimed as interest, there are no supporting documents. The additional documents submitted by Marico are yet to be examined, he added. Jay Zaveri, appearing for Marico, said there are around 4,000 invoices which showed that interest will be applicable after the due date in case dues are not paid in time. This is the primary basis for Marico seeking admission of the remaining claims, Zaveri said.

An NCLT bench led by Justice Shyam Babu Gautam posted the matter for further consideration on 15 March.

The company informed the exchanges on Tuesday that the resolution professional has not received any resolution plan. The last date for submission of a plan was 20 February. “Further course of action will be decided by the committee of creditors," the filing said.

Earlier, 13 firms, including Reliance Retail, Capri Global Holdings and United Biotech had evinced interest in buying Future Retail, but none of the companies submitted their final plans to turn around the company. Meanwhile, proxy advisory firm InGovern Research Services, had written to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) seeking regulatory scrutiny on the Future group companies. In a letter to Sebi chief Madhabi Puri Buch, it said that a greater regulatory scrutiny is required by Sebi and RBI as over ₹60,000 crore of public wealth has already been destroyed systematically by the promoters of the Future group. InGovern also said that the Future group has a high number of retail shareholders and the loss of wealth of public shareholders will be much more than what it would be for the Adani group companies.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Priyanka Gawande

Priyanka Gawande is a senior legal correspondent at Mint. She has worked as legal reporter for four years with both television and digital mediums. Based in Mumbai, she reports on disputes across sectors including banking, corporates and finance. This also includes insolvency and bankruptcy cases and intellectual property rights (IPR) litigation. Her focus also comprises tracking capital markets and disputes relating to securities law. Previously, Priyanka worked with Informist Media for 2.5 years covering major insolvency and bankruptcy cases and corporate developments. She started her career in journalism with Business Television India (BTVi) where she reported on primary markets, banking, finance and insurance companies.