Reliance Capital lenders to meet on Friday to decide on Challenge Mechanism

Lenders of debt-ridden Reliance Capital Ltd (RCL) will meet on Friday to decide on the newly introduced 'Challenge Mechanism' clause in the resolution process, sources said.

The 'Challenge Mechanism' gives lenders the power to oppose any resolution plan as and when they want.

Some bidders have raised concerns with the Administrator about the introduction of this new clause at this late stage of the bidding process, sources said, adding there was no mention of this mechanism in the Request for Resolution Plan (RFRP) document.

These bidders have argued that there was no such clause in the bidding process of DHFL, which was the largest resolution done through NCLT in the financial services sector, for over Rs 95,000 crore worth of debt, the sources added.

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

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

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had on November 29 last year superseded the board of RCL in view of payment defaults and serious governance issues.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