Reliance Cap second auction postponed again; new date to be decided soon

Lenders of debt-ridden Reliance Capital (RCap) have postponed again the second auction proposed to be held on Tuesday, sources said.

However, no new date has been decided yet, sources said, adding, it may be finalised in a week or two. Last week, lenders postponed the second auction to April 11.

According to sources, the bidders who have confirmed their participation in the second round of auction are IndusInd International Holdings Ltd (IIHL) of Hinduja Group, Torrent Investment and Singapore-based Oaktree.

The major concern of the bidders is the compliance of resolution plans with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and Request for Resolution Plan (RFRP), guidelines, as in the first round of auction, the Hinduja Group firm submitted the bid post-auction.

This bidding post-auction is being contested by Torrent Investment in the Supreme Court as it was the highest bidder as per the auction.

The Committee of Creditors (CoC) also has to incorporate the Supreme Court order in the Challenge Mechanism, sources added.

Meanwhile, the Administrator has also moved NCLT for the extension of deadline for completion of resolution process till May 30.

The deadline to complete the resolution process of Reliance Capital has been extended multiple times in the past.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on November 29, 2021, superseded the board of Reliance Capital in view of payment defaults and serious governance issues.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 firm.

Reliance Capital is the third large non-banking financial company (NBFC) against which the central bank has initiated bankruptcy proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

The other two were Srei Group NBFC and Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL).

The central bank subsequently filed an application for initiation of CIRP against the company at the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal.

In February last year, the RBI-appointed administrator invited expressions of interest for the sale of Reliance Capital.