Reliance Cap bidders raise issues with Rs 20,000 cr financial implication

Suitors of debt-ridden Reliance Capital Ltd (RCL) have flagged off various legal issues with cumulative financial implication of Rs 20,000 crore to the lenders and administrator as the deadline for submission for binding bid is approaching.

The last date for submitting binding bids for Reliance Capital and its subsidiaries is November 28.

Bidders -- including Hinduja, Torrent, Zurich, and Piramal -- have raised concerns, asking the administrator for early resolution of these liabilities, sources said.

The bidders are likely to make a condition precedent of these issues to any payment to the lenders, they added.

The two main issues flagged off by the bidders are the impending resolution of Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL) and the legal battle between the administrator and IDBI Trusteeship for the control of Reliance General Insurance's shares, which is pending in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the sources said.

Authum Investment and Infrastructure Ltd had been selected as the successful bidder for RHFL in June 2021, but the resolution process has not yet been completed due to various litigation involving the debenture holders. The total debt of RHFL is Rs 11,500 crore, according to the sources.

As far as Reliance General Insurance is concerned, the sources said, the independent actuarial Tower Watson has valued this business at Rs 9,500 crore.

Apart from these, the two other legal cases flagged off by the bidders are Axis Bank's claim of Rs 150 crore against Reliance Capital, which the lender has lost in the NCLT, and a case between the administrator and IndusInd Bank, involving arbitration of Nippon Asset Management shares with financial implication of Rs 650 crore, they said.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on November 29 last year superseded the board of RCL in view of payment defaults and serious governance issues.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 firm. Reliance Capital is the third large non-banking financial company (NBFC) against which the central bank has initiated bankruptcy proceedings under the IBC.

The other two were Srei Group NBFC and Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL). The RBI subsequently filed an application for initiation of CIRP against the company at the Mumbai bench of the NCLT.

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