TechM files petition against RCom over dues

Reliance Communications has said that IT services major Tech Mahindra has filed insolvency petitions against the company and its two subsidiaries for recovering dues.

The quality of service and amounts billed are disputed, RCom said in a regulatory filing terming the petitions as “misconceived, premature and motivated by extraneous considerations.”

“We wish to inform you that Tech Mahindra Ltd, a vendor for call centre services, has filed petitions, as an unsecured operational creditor under IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code against the company, Reliance Telecom and Reliance Big TV, subsidiaries of the company for certain bills submitted by them for services allegedly rendered,” the Anil Ambani company said.

Noting that the aggregate amount of Tech Mahindra's claim against all the three companies worked out to Rs 8.20 crore, RCom said “the claim amount is not considered material by respective companies concerned.” “We submit that the petitions are misconceived, premature and motivated by extraneous considerations,” it added. Reliance Communications, which is reeling under a debt burden of about Rs 46,000 crore, recently called off merger talks with Aircel, citing  “legal and regulatory” delays.

RCom and Aircel had signed binding agreements in September 2016 for the merger of mobile business. RCom’s Rs 11,000 crore tower deal with Brookfield is also being reworked following termination of wireless merger talks with Aircel.

Aircel tenancy would have been a sweetener for Brookfield in the tower deal, but the recent collapse of merger talks (between RCom and Aircel) prompted a renegotiation on contours of the deal between the Anil Ambani company and the Canadian firm